wa^^ 



OF 



C 



II 



CO 



\i 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

Chap.-'P./O CopyrigntJNo. 

Shelf.j.jS'-^ H5 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 




V3N. QAB.-^IEL, QP Q\JR LADY OF SORROWS, 



The Life of Ven, Gabriel of 
Our Lady of Sorrows 

(GABRIEL POSSENTI) 

of the Congregation of the Passion, 



ORIGINALLY WRITTEN BY 

REV. HYACINTH HAGE, C. P. 



WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY CARDINAL GIBBONS. 



Who is the Angel that with so much joy, 
Into the eyes is looking of our Queen, 
Enamored so that he seems made of fire ? 

Dante's Paradiso. Canto xxxi., 105. 



SUPERIORUM PERMISSU. 




PHILADELPHIA : 

H. L. KILXER & Co., 

PUBLISHERS. 



c\'^H"=f :i 




^< 



1« 






44292 

Copyright, 1899, by H. L. Kilner & Co. 

TVSTO COPIES RECEIVEO, 




•eCONO COP>^, 






^ 



Ki 



Plan of Work. 



Secular Life. 

Childhood. 

Youth. 

Vocation. 

Religious Life. 

Novitiate. 
Scholasticate. 

Work of Perfection. 
Cardinal Virtues. 

Temperance, 

Justice, 

Fortitude, 

Prudence. 
Theological Virtues. 

Faith, Hope, Charity. 

Means of Perfection. 

Evangelical Counsels. 
Mental Prayer : 

Devotion to Passion, Devotion to Mary, 
Communion of Saints. 

Consummation in Death. 

Glorification : 

Introduction of Cause, Voice from Heaven, 
Judgment of Church. 

(3) 



CONTENTS. 



chap. page 

Introduction by Cardinal Gibbons 7 

I. Birth and Parentage 13 

II. Childhood 17 

III. Youth, and School Life 26 

IV. Religious Vocation 34 

V. Hjs Journey to the Novitiate 50 

VI. Life in the Novitiate 58 

VII. His Affections Spiritualized 72 

VIII. His Clerical Studies 77 

IX. The Struggle for Perfection 83 

X. Temperance and Mortification 91 

XI. Chastity 99 

XII. His Humility 106 

XIII. His Meekness 116 

XIV. His Cheerfulness 120 

XV. His Spirit of Religion 1 26 

XVI. His Regularity • • • ^^5 

XVII. His Spiritual Courage 14 > 

XVIII. His Prudence 1^7 

XIX. His Spirit of Faith 160 

XX. His Lively Hope 164 

XXI. His Ardent Charity 168 

XXII. His Love of God 174 

XXIII. The Evangelical Counsels 183 

XXIV. His Spirit of Prayer 192 

XXV. His Devotion to the Passion 200 

XXVI. His Devotion to Mary 206 

5 



6 



CONTEISTTS. 



CHAP. PAGE 

XXVII. Other Special Devotions 220 

XXVIII. His Last Illness 226 

XXIX. His Holy Death 236 

XXX. His Growing Fame 244 

XXXI. Our Latest Wonder-Worker 251 

XXXII. What Gabriel has done for Isola 272 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



PAGE 

Ven. Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows i 

Passionist Monastery Morrovalle 58 

Holy Death of Ven. Gabriel 236 

New Tomb of Ven. Gabriel 250 



Introduction. 

Mere natural virtue, however excellent and 
praiseworthy, can never raise man to the sub- 
lime perfection which is the end of his creation. 
Divine faith and grace joined with man's coopera- 
tion, alone justify the soul unto eternal salvation. 
"If thou wilt enter into life, keep the command- 
ments " (Matt. xix. 17) ; and the first and the 
greatest commandment is : " Thou shalt love the 
Lord thy God with thy whole heart." (Mark 
xii.. Matt, xxii.) No other plan of salvation has 
God ever given, either in the old dispensation or 
in the new. To facilitate the road to this per- 
fection, Christ gave His disciples the evangelical 
counsels of poverty, continency and obedience, 
and when accepted as irrevocable obligations, 
they place the disciple in a new state of life, 
which is therefore, the state of perfection. " If 
thou wilt be perfect, said Christ to the young 
man, go sell what thou hast, and give to the 
poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven, 
and come, follow Me." (Matt. xix. 21.) It was 
from among those who had left all things to 
follow Him, that He chose His apostles. Here- 
unto likewise. He invited Christians in every age, 
when he said : " Every one that hath left house 

(7) 



8 INTRODUCTIOl^. 

or brethren or sisters, or father or mother, or 
wife or children or lands for My name's sake, 
shall receive a hundredfold, and shall possess life 
everlasting." (Matt. xix. 29.) In these passages 
of the gospel. Christian tradition has ever seen 
the institution of the state of perfection, which 
the Church of God has prudently adapted to th.e 
circumstances of place and time, embodying it in 
various rules and constitutions, just as she has 
acted with relation to the sacraments, surround- 
ing them with appropriate rites and ceremonies. 

Thus were the different forms of the religious 
life introduced : eremitic and monastic, clerical 
and lay ; wherein a steadily increasing number 
of Christians, male and female, dedicated them- 
selves to the exercises of the contemplative or 
active life. Apart from this variety of forms, 
one thing ever remained common to all, as the 
very essence of the state of perfection, namely 
an irrevocable profession of the three evangelical 
counsels, whereby the state of perfection became 
synonymous with the religious state, and those 
who professed it became religious properly so- 
called. 

From the earliest times, too, the Church ac- 
cepted this profession in God's name, regarded 
the whole religious life as a state of consecra- 
tion, and those that belonged to it as sacred : in- 
somuch that the same canon law that protected 
the Church's ministers from violence also safe- 



INTRODtJOTiOJ^. 9 

guarded the religious, and rendered him that 
profaned the person of a religious or a cleric, 
equally guilty of sacrilege. 

So complete is the sacrifice implied by the re- 
ligious profession, that the early fathers have 
compared it to a holocaust, the victim of which 
dies to the world to live only for God. The 
world assumes that such self-annihilation is of 
no public utility : but " if the grain of w^heat 
falling into the ground die, it bringeth forth 
much fruit," and every unprejudiced observer 
may infer the rich harvest of beneficent w^orks 
accruing to the general public from religious in 
the past, from what is now accomplished by the 
numerous religious institutions that dot the fair 
territory of these United States. 

In the life of the youthful Passionist now pre- 
sented for the first time to American readers, 
the excellence of the religious state is plainly set 
forth in a more than ordinary degree. A child 
of our own times, whose days barely cover 
twenty-four years of the middle of this expiring 
century, the sanctity of the Ven. Gabriel Pos- 
senti has been made illustrious by the wonders 
wrought at his grave since 1892. His early life 
presents this unique feature, that it contained 
no presage of his future holiness until he crossed 
the threshold of his cloister-home. The five 
short years in which the work of his spiritual 
perfection was accomplished, were spent in the 



10 IlSrTRODUCTION. 

obscurity of the retreat, devoted to the perform- 
ance of common duties, as if God wished to em- 
phasize once more in the eyes of the world, the 
sanctifying efficacy of the religious state. 

Moved by these considerations, no sooner was 
the extraordinary virtue of the Ven. Servant of 
God brought to my notice, than I conceived for 
the youthful hero a love and admiration which 
were but the outcome of my profound esteem 
for the religious state. I recall with pleasure 
that in 1895, together with our illustrious breth- 
ren in the Sacred College, Cardinal Parocchi of 
Rome, and Cardinal Yaughan of London, I was 
one of the three bishops who first petitioned the 
Holy See for Gabriel's beatification. I then rep- 
resented to the Sovereign Pontiff " Avhat honor 
would thereby accrue to the Church, what salu- 
tary profit to Christian people, and especiall}^ 
what assistance to youth, so sorely straightened 
in these days by the spirit of wickedness." (Epis- 
tola Postulat, Aug. 4th, 1895.) Similiar petitions 
have since been forwarded to the Holy Father 
by twenty-nine cardinals, and as many arch- 
bishops and bishops ; and now that the petition 
has been granted, we gladly introduce to the 
public this " Life of the Venerable Gabriel, of 
the Passionist Congregation." 

Besides, this little volume is a new departure 
in hagiography, and one to be commended. A 
glance at the fundamental plan which underlies 



INTRODUCTION^. 11 

the work will reveal the object of the author. 
After the historical portion that leads up to 
Gabriel's correspondence to his religious voca- 
tion, we follow step by step, the development of 
his interior perfection. Helped by divine grace, 
and guided by a wise and prudent director, the 
young religious applies himself first to overcome 
the passions of rebellious nature, passing thence 
to the acquisition of the moral virtues that form 
the character of the man. Thus we come to 
sympathize with Gabriel as a brother, before we 
are consciously drawn to admire and imitate 
the saint. The heart being thus purified and 
strengthened, free scope is given to the opera- 
tions of grace, which works by faith, hope and 
charity, unto the perfect union with God wherein 
consists our supreme perfection. Then only are 
we shown how marvelously this work was fos- 
tered by the means proper to the state of perfec- 
tion, until we see its consummation in a holy 
death, and its wonderful sanction by the voice 
of heaven. 

Whilst showing the excellence of the religious 
life, it is hoped that this little book will be an 
encouragement to those whose vocation is in the 
world, showing them that holiness is not to be 
sought for in wonderful deeds, but rather in the 
ordinary duties of life when sanctified by the 
love of God : in this alone, essential perfection 
consists. 



13 INTRODUCTION. 

To those who overestimate the value of moral 
virtue, it Avill show that this is only consequeiit 
perfection ; that is, valuable only in proportion 
to the amount of grace and divine charity that 
animates it ; bereft of which, the most heroic 
deeds are deserving only of human praise, and an 
earthly reward. 

Let us add, in conclusion, that for those more 
privileged souls who live in the cloister, this 
little book will be a gentle reminder that the re- 
ligious state, as such, is not ready-made sanctity 
put on with the religious habit, but only a means 
{instritmental perfection^ as theologians call it) 
to be used unto an end — the acquisition of vir- 
tue. 

J. Cakd. Gibbons. 

Baliimorey Feast of St. Aloysius, i8gg. 



J. X. p. 

The Life of Ven. Gabriel of the Sorrowful 

(Francis Possenti) 

Mother, of the Congregation 
of the Passion. 



BIRTH AND PARENTAGE. 

" Do you wish to enjoy in the loveliest season 
of the year the spectacle of one of the most 
beautiful regions of far-famed Italy ? Then, 
traverse by slow stages the road which leads 
from Florence to Arezzo and Cortona, thence 
along the classic and enchanted shores of Lake 
Thrasymene to Perugia, and then down the east- 
ern slopes of the mountains overlooking the 
'liber to the mountain-side beyond, to whose 
steep acclivities clings x^ssisi." Here it was, that 
on the first day of March, 1838, was born of 
Sante Possenti and Agnes Frisciotti, a child who 
jn these dark days was to enhance the ancient 
splendor of UiTi!)rirv bv nuding one star more to 



14 THE LIFE OF VEIS". GABRIEL. 

the constellation which has made this province 
the land of sweetest saints. The late bishop of 
Assisi, Nicanor Priori, a truly holy man wrote : 
" Even as this city, in the most troublous times 
of the church, brought forth the Blessed Francis 
and other men of great holiness forechosen of 
God, that by their splendor and example they 
might enkindle the faith, purify the morals, and 
by the foolishness of the cross confound the wis- 
dom of the world, — even so, in these latter and 
more evil times, did it give birth to another 
Francis, surnamed Possenti (and afterward 
among the Fathers of the Passion, Gabriel of the 
Sorrowful Virgin,) — who having followed the 
example of the first, showed himself principally 
to the young, a despiser of the world, a follower 
of all good works, and an ardent lover of the 
Cross of Christ." 

His father, Sante Possenti, was a lawyer of ex- 
ceptional talent, who during his long life of 
eighty-two years, deserved ,well of his native 
land. When barely twenty-two years old, Signor 
Possenti was appointed governor of TJrbania in 
Eomagna. He was continued in this office in 
various places, with successive promotion, by five 
Popes, until in 1842, Gregory XVI. nominated 
him Grand Assessor of Spoleto, in which capacity 
he continued to serve his country up to the date 
of his retirement from public life in 1858. 

His mother belonged to one of the most con- 



BIRTH AND PARENTAGE. 15 

spicuous families of Civitanova in the Marches ; 
but the distinctions of fortune and birth were en- 
hanced in her by a treasure far more precious 
and praiseworthy — the blessing of a livel}^ faith, 
shining forth in works of charity and religion. 
The union of this distinguished couple was a 
happy one, and God blessed them with a numer- 
ous family, thirteen in all, four of whom received 
the crown of innocence in their tender years, all 
the rest walked in the footsteps of their holy 
parents, two being raised to the priesthood ; 
while Francis, the eleventh of their children, was 
destined to be the brightest gem in the diadem 
of their parental love. Happy the parents of 
virtuous children ! blessed the children of true 
Christian parents ! 

Following the laudable custom of Catholic 
countries, Francis was baptized on the very day 
of his birth, and by a gracious dispensation of 
Providence, he was regenerated at the same font 
where eight hundred years before, the glorious 
patriarch of Assisi, St. Francis, had been born 
to grace. Our little Francis w^as entrusted to a 
nurse during the first year of his life, on account 
of the delicate health of his good mother, but on 
his father receiving the appointment of Governor 
of Montalto in 1839, the child was restored to his 
family. The official duties of the father, as well 
as the frequent changes of residence implied in 
his various appointments, left him but little time 



16 THE LIFE OF VEII. GABRIEL. 

to share either the burdens or pleasures of home- 
life; but his devoted wife consecrated herself 
with all the greater solicitude to the Christian 
education of her children ; and already at so ten- 
der an age, she began to arouse in Francesco's in- 
fant soul, the first awakenings of the faith and 
grace of his holy baptism. 

At last the day daw^ned when in consequence 
of Signor Possenti's appointment to Spoleto, the 
loving parents might hope to live henceforth un- 
disturbed in a permanent home. But alas, 
hardly had a few months passed by when one of 
the children, Eose, onl}^ seven months old, took 
her flight to join her two angel brothers Paul 
and Louis, in heaven ; then, a few weeks later, 
Adele, a lovely maiden of nine summers, passed 
away ; and finally after a melancholy interval of 
a few weeks, the bereaved family in deep mourn- 
ing and sorrow laid the mortal remains of their 
beloved mother to rest. Agnes Frisciotti-Pos- 
senti, young in years but rich in merits, died 
February 9, 1842. She sleeps in the church of 
the Oratorians at Spoleto w^aiting for the day 
when she will shine before the world as the 
mother of a saint. 



CHILDHOOD. 17 



II. 

CHILDHOOD. 

God's providence has its mysterious ways, — 
the cross must try and perfect his elect. The 
widowed father bovved his head in tearful resig- 
nation, then with the solicitude of a mother and 
the fortitude of a Christian, he looked duty in 
the face undaunted. Surrounded by a family of 
nine children, the duties of his important office 
hardly left him time to sit at table in their 
midst ; so, at last he resolved to entrust the gov- 
ernment of his household, as well as the care of 
the family, to a respectable and experienced lady 
named Pacifica. The imputation of harshness 
which we find recorded of her may well be ex- 
cused on the score of necessity, if we consider 
the age and number of the boys and girls com- 
mitted to her charge ; while time and results 
proved that Signer Possenti had not been mis- 
taken in his choice, and the affection and respect 
ever shown her in after-life by his family, well 
attest how worthy she was of the absolute confi- 
dence placed in her. None, however, cherished 
a more grateful remembrance of her than 
Francis, as his letters amply attest. 



18 THE LIFE OF VEN. GABRIEL. 

At the very outset, we might as well inform 
our readers, that the child, whose life-story we 
have undertaken, did not in his early years man- 
ifest any of those extraordinary signs of preco- 
cious holiness so often found in the lives of the 
saints. In fact, Francis was, if anything, more 
lively than any of his brothers and sisters, and 
as he grew up, his gay and sympathetic nature 
brought more than its expected share to the noise 
and bustle of the Possenti mansion. Then, too, 
our hero was not without his faults. He began 
to show unmistakable signs of anger, giddiness, 
and disobedience. The impetuosity of his nature 
would often break out in fits of passion, which it 
was no easy matter for him to control. His 
earliest biographer states that when corrected by 
his father, Francesco Avould give way to his 
angry feelings, his face would become inflamed 
with the violence of his unruly temper, and he 
would leave the company abruptly. But the 
flame would subside almost as quickly as it had 
been enkindled ; his better nature would assert 
itself, and then it was beautiful to see him after 
the absence of a few moments, return to his 
father, weeping and confused, begging pardon 
for his hastiness. But his father Avould pretend 
not to care for this change of feeling, and would 
dismiss him, saying : " Francesco, what I want, 
is that you learn to behave yourself." Then 
would the boy throw himself upon his father's 



CHILDHOOD. 19 

neck, embrace and kiss him, until the parent, con- 
quered and moved, would assure his son that he 
loved his dear little Francesco still. Blessed the 
son who learns betimes to revere and love his 
father ! Filial affection will mould his character 
into manliness more effectually than the rod : the 
human reason unfolds only in the light of reason, 
the human heart is conquered only by the con- 
viction of love. 

Signor Possenti had not been slow to realize 
that his paternal admonitions, even when empha- 
sized in his absence by a watchful and devoted 
governess, would hardly prove a sufficient aid 
and safeguard for his growing sons ; so a tutor 
was selected for them, a young cleric of piety 
and ability, who should be to them an experi- 
enced friend and constant companion, guiding 
them in their studies and associating with them 
in all their recreations. Such a measure may 
appear strange to our American ideas of self- 
education, but it was a custom among families of 
rank and consideration in other days and other 
lands ; and it will hardly be denied that habitual 
intercourse with a more trained and mature com- 
panion is likely to form a more manly character 
in the young, than if they grew up with those of 
their own age, and tastes, and dispositions. How- 
ever, it is not our object to become the advocate 
of any system, depending as it must needs do, so 
largely upon national traits and local circum- 



20 THE LIFE OF VEN. GABRIEL. 

stances ; suffice it to say that a worthy and con- 
genial companion was provided for the young 
sons of Signor Possenti in the person of Philip 
Fabi. When he was installed in his new office 
he was ten years older than Francis, and sur- 
vived him by many years. By reason therefore 
of his close intimacy, he became a valuable wit- 
ness to his pupil's conduct as a secular, when the 
juridical processes were set on foot. 

Fabi's task was by no means easy. About this 
time, we are told, that Francesco's character was 
very changeable ; all inclined to piety one day, 
and on the morrow equally given up to worldli- 
ness : now all studiousness and fervor, then all 
tepidity and languor. Yet, in the midst of this 
fickleness, his piety Avould burst into sudden 
flame, revealing the fire of virtue that lay smoul- 
dering in his heart. 

Let it not be supposed, however, that it was 
Signor Possenti's intention to give a private 
tuition to his sons : he Avas fully aware of the 
blessing of public education, and as the first mag- 
istrate of the city, he was too public-spirited to 
seek any for his boys but the common schools ; 
he feared for them, not their contact with the 
poor, but the contamination of the wicked ; and 
the advantages of select schools were far out- 
weighed in his mind by the democratic idea of 
spirited emulation with talent and merit, in 
whatever class of society they might be found. 



CHILDHOOD. 21 

His one ambition was to make his sons true men, 
useful citizens and practical Christians. 

And so it came to pass that little Francis, to 
liis supreme delight, found himself accompanying 
his older brothers on his wav to school. At that 
time elementary education in Spoleto was super- 
intended by the Brothers of the Christian Schools, 
and it was under the influence of their teaching 
and example that the seeds of virtue implanted 
in his soul by his Christian parents, developed 
into flowers and fruits, despite the weeds that 
threatened to stifle them.^ " It was while under 
the care of the Christian Brothers," says his sister 
Teresa, " that Francis received the first rudiments 
of learning, as well as his first systematic in- 
struction in religion. From his earliest school- 
days," she continues, " he showed a special devo- 
tion to the Blessed Virgin, never missing the ro- 
sary that we recited at home every evening. He 
often visited the sacred image or Icon of our 
Lady in the cathedral; and if perchance the doors 
were closed, he would devoutly venerate the 

^ The idea o\ public schools is not an invention of our times or of 
our country : it is as old as the parish and cathedral communities 
in the Catholic Church. Its modern and popular form is derived 
from two of her illustrious sons : Peter Fourrier doing for the edu- 
cation of girls, what John Baptist de la Salle did for the boys. The 
society instituted by the latter to further Christian education 
(though but one of the many now flourishmg in the Church of 
God) numbers at present about i8,ooo religious, all pledged to the 
principle of gratuitous education. 



22 THE LIFE OF VEJST. GABKIEL. 

statue placed over the entrance, la santissima 
Vergine del Portico^ as it was called. My 
brother's moral conduct was ever unblemished, 
writes his Dominican brother, Louis, (who had 
lived with Francis until the latter had reached 
his twelfth year) yet I remember that when he 
was very young he was not very strict in the 
custody of his eyes; it seems that little Fran- 
cesco was a trifle too wide-awake; he thought it 
his prerogative to gratify his natural curiosity 
in seeing and knowing all things. 

" Then, too, healthy boys are partial to fruits 
and sweets of all kinds, and our Francis was by 
no means an exception to the rule; but his 
generous nature would not enjoy what he could 
not share with others ; and his sense of honesty 
was too deep-rooted to allow of his ever ap- 
propriating anything whatsoever that was not 
his own. The little fellow was, besides, full of 
courage. He could not bear to see any one 
suffering unjustly, and full often he championed 
the cause of those older than himself, if they 
happened to be reprimanded or punished without 
reason. But on the other hand, his sense of 
justice would not allow to pass unnoticed any 
fault whether in the domestics, his brothers and 
sisters, or his companions; he was outspoken, 
perhaps even forward, but it was not hard to see 
that all this came from the uprightness of an 
honest heart. 



CHILDHOOD. 23 

" On the whole, Francis was both the terror and 
the favorite of the home, whilst his playful dis- 
position made him a welcome companion to all 
his schoolmates. Usually rather careless about 
his personal appearance, he was not exempt from 
a tinge of vanity ; still his heart was too mag- 
nanimous to receive any lasting impression from 
any kind of vulgar Avorldly show : with the same 
facility with which his eye would take to such 
things, he would put them aside, and sometimes 
disregard them with contempt, saying : ' O, after 
all, what do I care ! ' " 

This nobility of character was not entirely 
due to the watchfulness of Pacifica, or to the 
influence of the good Brothers at school, most of 
it must be credited to Signor Possenti himself, in 
so many respects a model Christian father. This 
good man yielded to no one his place as the 
effective leader and teacher of his children, and 
he walked before them both by precept and 
example. 

Signor Possenti was a man of piety and faith, 
and with the exercise of his religion he allowed 
nothing to interfere. Rising early in the morn- 
ing, he began the day by devoting an entire hour 
to his morning devotions. He would afterward 
repair to the church to hear Holy Mass, taking 
with him most of his children. Then, relying on 
the assistance of God, and strengthened by the 
testimony of a good conscience, he would turn 



24 THE LIFE OF VEX. GABRIEL. 

his attention to his judicial duties. This good 
Christian had likewise a remarkable love for the 
poor: both officially and privately he exerted 
himself to relieve their necessities, and he bene- 
fited by every occasion, not only to perform an 
act of charity, but to instil into the hearts of his 
children a practical sympathy for the suffering 
members of Christ. To the father's great delight, 
Francis learned the lessons of charity at the cost 
of personal self-denial. From his earliest years 
the boy showed great compassion for the poor, 
often giving away half of his lunch during the 
recess at school. Eeturning home, if he hap- 
pened to meet some unfortunate creature whose 
misery moved him to pity, he would go at once 
to Pacifica, and ask for bread ; but it sometimes 
happened that the good woman's generosity was 
not all commensurate with the demands that 
Francis saw fit to levy upon it ; then would our 
young hero remonstrate with her, saying : " Why ! 
. . . father wants us to be charitable; we 
ought not to despise the poor, for we don't know 
what we may one day be ourselves." In the 
evening, after the labors of the well-filled day, 
Signor Possenti was accustomed to gather his 
sons and daughters in his room, and after the 
recitation of the rosary in common, hold with 
them such converse as was appropriate to their 
age and their needs. In the intimacy of such 
conversations he would open his heart to them, 



CHILDHOOD. 25 

inculcating those Christian principles, wise coun- 
sels, and useful maxims, that were to guide them 
on the path of life ; he would speak to them of 
their duties toward God, of the respect and 
gratitude we owe to His Church, of the obedience 
commanded by parental authority ; above all, he 
would inveigh with all the warmth of his affec- 
tion against the dangers of bad company, and 
impress upon his children's minds the vanity of 
the world, and everything in it. Then having 
received the blessing of such a noble Christian 
father, they would retire to rest. Truly did the 
parental blessing rest upon his family ; truly by 
such a blameless life did Sante Possenti deserve 
the love of his children, and the glorious title of 
heing the father of a scant ! 



26 THE LIFE OF VEIS-. GABRIEL. 



III. 
YOUTH AND SCHOOL LIFE. 

In 1823 Cardinal della Genga, a native of 
Spoleto ascended the papal throne under the 
name of Leo XII., and one of the first things 
that claimed his attention and solicitude was to 
provide for the youth of his native city the very 
best of educators. Instruction is not education : 
the latter term implies the formation of the heart 
as well as the cultivation of the mind ; and it 
must be remembered in the words of a solid 
thinker of our own day that the teacher's per- 
sonality, far more than his learning, determines 
his value as an educator.^ Thus the two great 
teaching orders of the Church came to Spoleto, 
the sons of La Salle and of Loyola, the Christian 
Brothers and the Jesuits. Under the patronage 
of Archbishop Mastai-Ferretti (afterward Pius 
IX.) the Fathers of the Society flourished, so 
that, when in 1842 the Possenti family was 
established at Spoleto, their college was already 
illustrious by the fame of its professors and the 
number of its students. 

Signor Possenti, who was highlj^ cultured 

> Life and Education. Chap. vi. (Bp. Spalding of Peoria, 1897). 



YOUTH AND SCHOOL LIFE. 27 

himself, rejoiced at this opportunity of affording 
his sons a liberal education, and in 1849 it came 
to pass that having finished his elementary course 
of instruction with the good Brothers, our 
Francis followed his elder brothers to the Jesuit 
College, until he graduated in philosophy at the 
age of eighteen. Under such accomplished 
masters, Francis made rapid progress in secular 
as well as sacred knowledge. His success in his 
studies may be gauged by his acknowledged 
talent, and from the honorable place accorded 
him in public examinations. His name is often 
mentioned in the programs which it was usual to 
print at the " Distribution of Premiums." His 
brother Henry says that the prize in philosophy 
was awarded to him, and his sister Teresa is 
still in possession of a " medal of honor " won 
by Francis at the end of the scholastic course, 
when such distinctions were far from being 
common. 

Our young hero had a bright and open mind 
together with a tenacious memory. He was 
certainly one of the aptest scholars, writes his 
professor of mental philosophy ; and one of his 
companions, his senior in the Passionist novitiate, 
attests that he must have gone through his studies 
with great success, judging from the knowledge 
with which he was Avell furnished. 

All this, however, was enhanced in Francis 
by external qualities that made his talents more 



28 THE LIFE OF VEN. GABRIEL. 

valuable still. His directors used to select him 
as public reader both for the sodality and in the 
college church, when the catechism took place 
there on festivals. No one could surpass him in 
this exercise, both for readiness and inborn grace- 
fulness. Nature had endowed him with a clear 
and sonorous voice, and while reading he was so 
penetrated with the author's meaning that he 
seemed less to repeat the sentiments of others 
than to express his own. Hence many foresaw 
in him the valiant missionary, recognizing in the 
graceful reader, the gifts of the distinguished 
preacher. He succeeded equally well in the aca- 
demic dissertations and the classic authors, all 
which he would read with such feeling and nat- 
uralness that it almost seemed original declama- 
tion. Such is the testimony of Canon Bonaccia 
his college companion. As years went on, it be- 
came evident to all, that Francis Possenti was 
one of those who gave well-grounded hopes of 
brilliant success in his future career, whatever 
that professional career might be. 

While commanding admiration, his natural 
distinction offended nobody, because his frank, 
noble and generous disposition drew all to him, 
and surrounded him with the sweet halo of affec- 
tion and esteem. And no wonder, for, ever smil- 
ing, kind and obliging to all, respectful to his 
superiors, he became the favorite of the Spoletan 
College, as he was the sunshine of his own home. 



YOUTH AND SCHOOL LIFE. 29 

Yet these bright prospects were not unaccom- 
panied with danger. How many a noble soul 
is deceived by the vanities of the world, and 
blinded by its concupiscence ! Hence the warn- 
ing of the beloved disciple : (John ii. 14, 15) 
" Young men, love not the world.'- The per- 
sonal qualities of Signor Possenti, no less than 
the social standing consequent on his high office, 
brought him in contact with the most refined 
and educated classes of the city, and threw open 
to him and his children the drawing-rooms of 
the most aristocratic and wealthy. It was cus- 
tomary with the nobility of Spoleto to hold 
soirees, in which the earlier hours of the night 
would be given to the familiar discussion of 
some artistic or scientific topic, after which the 
junior portion of the assembly would make 
merry in plays, music or dancing. Though 
rather young, Francis would occasionally be al- 
lowed to accompany his brothers and sisters, and 
as was to be expected, his winning ways soon 
made him so desirable a guest, that they were 
loath to miss him. These gatherings had such a 
fascination for him, that he would beg his father 
to bring him to them, and Signor Possenti fully 
appreciating the welcome accorded to his son 
would yield to his importunity, until so marked 
was Francis' partiality to these entertainments 
that he came to be called among his college as- 
sociates, il damerino, or, the society young man. 



30 THE LIFE OF YEN. GABRIEL. 

Success in these soirees, and the private theatric- 
als, which often formed their most prominent 
feature, increased in the heart of Francis a love 
for the stage. The brilliancy of the illuminated 
theatre, the splendid assembly, the realistic scen- 
ery and dramatic action, the symphony of the 
orchestra and the singing of the artists render- 
ing the grand opera of the Italian masters, — all 
these had for him a fascination of which he was 
less conscious than those who observed him 
closely. Whatever may be said theoretically of 
the stage as a factor in popular education, are 
not its advantages outweighed by its dangers, 
especially to the young ? 

To these dangers, the boy added another, and 
one which proves most hurtful to a very large 
number ; he took to the reading of novels and 
romances. Not that he ever took into his hands 
the vile literature that awakens and inflames the 
impure passions ; indeed, the press and the stage 
were under strict surveillance in the pontifical 
domain ; and we must add that such was Fran- 
cesco's wisdom and prudence, that he would fre- 
quent no place, nor read any book w^ithout the 
knowledge of his father. However, the effects 
of the w^orldly spirit Avhich was insinuating itself 
into his son, can hardly have escaped the vigilant 
eye of Signor Possenti ; still less those of his 
zealous teachers, whose prudence could not so 
easily be blinded by affection ; in fact, it became 



YOUTH AND SCHOOL LIFE. 31 

evident to his companions. Parenzi Avrites : 
Francis bad r.ii ardent temperament much in- 
clined to pcisliines. The last two ^^ears he spent 
at Spoleto, he gave himself up to a life of amuse- 
ment ; he was fond of the theatre, the drawing- 
room and the dance, showing in his dress and 
manner a marked degree of downright vanity. 
" He was naturally disposed to noble deeds, 
Avrites Bonacci:i^ his enthusiastic companion, but 
the beauty of his soul was clouded by levity and 
vanity. And why seek to conceal it ? Francesco 
showed himself extravagant in his dress, which 
had to be in the latest fashion, his hair was care- 
fully parted and perfumed, the least stain on his 
clothes would make him indignant ; he was im- 
moderately fond of company and taken up with 
frivolities ; this was the predominant passion of 
his youth." Yet, this worldliness did not pro- 
ceed from a soft, effeminate nature, for Francis 
was ever a boy among boys, always at home in a 
crowed of jovial companions ; the vanity and ex- 
travagance of which we have spoken above, be- 
came noticeable only during the last period of 
his college life ; and even then, only on those 
occasions (frequent though, they were) when he 
appeared " in society." At other times, like other 
boys, he was rather negligent in his dress, and 
ready, to take a leading part in every manly 
game and recreation. The Spoletan lads enjoyed 
walks over the hills that encircle the city, and 



32 THE LIFE OF VEN. GABRIEL. 

when the season permitted, they would shoulder 
their guns, and attired in corduroy (somewhat 
after our football fashion) they would spend the 
day in the woods. 

If athletic sports, like everything human, are 
accompanied with some dangers, their inconven- 
iences are more than counterbalanced by the ad- 
vantages they procure, and not the least of these 
is that they are a wholesome salt against moral 
corruption, by spending in healthy exercise the 
animal spirits of ardent youth, and training the 
boy into self-control and self-possession. How 
many owe to a great extent the chastity of their 
body and the purity of their soul to this disci- 
pline of the flesh ! 

" Albeit that Francis was fond of appearing in 
society," writes his brother Henry who lived 
eighteen years with him, " he never failed in that 
modesty and reserve, which he had learned from 
our good parents." Boys are fair judges of one 
another : the freedom with which they treat each 
other, gives them a clearer insight into one an- 
other's souls, than could be had by either parents 
or teachers. Yet, neither Francesco's brothers 
nor the companions of his school-days, ever wit- 
nessed anything in his conduct that even savored 
of indelicacy. But our young hero strove to 
merit the protection of heaven, in the midst of 
his dangers. He w-as a strict observer of all his 
practices of piety ; never did he neglect his daily 



YOUTH AND SCHOOL LIFE. 33 

devotions ; every morning he assisted at the 
Holy Sacrifice of the Mass ; he did not fail to 
visit the Blessed Sacrament frequently ; showed 
a particular devotion to the Sacred Passion of 
our Redeemer, and recited the rosary of our 
Lady every night. Join to this, his frequent re- 
ception of the Holy Sacraments and the evident 
fervor of his dispositions, testified to by his 
brother Henry and some of his companions. 

Still, this conduct, however exemplar)^, would 
not have saved him from eventual ruin ; for dur- 
ing the last years of his secular life the youth 
was evidently playing with danger, trifling with 
grace ; and the abnormal mixture of worldiness 
with devotion could not go on indefinitely. " Cer- 
tainly," remarks his first biographer, " if such a 
mode of life were longer to continue, the world 
would ultimately have prevailed, and great 
would have been its conquest." 



34 THE LIFE OF VEIS^. GABRIEL, 



IV. 

HIS RELIGIOUS VOCATION. 

It is but natural for a youth Avith life and 
prospects before him to cast his glance upon the 
world and make his plans ; it is but the noble 
ambition of a man on the verge of the social 
battlefield to ask himself where is his post of 
duty ; it is but meet for a Christian boy anx- 
iously to pray and seek for counsel that he may 
know God's will, and fulfil his mission. 

And yet of that future now so near at hand, 
Francis did not even seem to think ; for his 
career he manifested no concern: but in truth 
this was the only thing, over v/hich his candid 
nature drew the veil of secrecy, even with his 
most trusted friends. Had they but known! 
. . . Our Francis was not indifferent to his 
future prospects : he felt that the Lord Himself 
was asking for the complete sacrifice of his 
heart, that a career more glorious than worldly 
heroes dream of, was marked out for him. '' How 
many times," writes Bonaccia, " do I remember 
seeing him during his thanksgiving after commun- 
ion, his head bowed in deepest reverence, his 
hands clasped, his eyes moist with silent tears, 



HIS RELIGIOUS VOCATIOlSr. 35 

as if he were pondering over some great thought, 
and maturing with God some great design." 

The truth is that a struggle of some years' 
standing was going on in his heart, and in pro^ 
portion to his seeming unfaithfulness to grace 
his vocation all the more clearly revealed itself : 
he who watched over Francesco's soul as its 
Master constantly reminded him of his duty, 
while he protected him from serious danger. 

The first warning came under the form of a 
grievous sickness which brought him to death's 
door. In his distress, the child felt inspired to 
have recourse to God through Our Lady's inter- 
cession, promising that if she obtained his cure, 
lie would spend the rest of his life in a religious 
order. The promise was seemingly accepted, for 
he rapidly recovered, and from that hour he en- 
joyed greater health and strength than ever be- 
fore. But his cure led to nothing definite : he 
allowed the grace that he received to become 
barren. After the lapse of some years, Francis 
was roused from his apathy when the Lord 
afflicted him a second time. He was suffering 
from a severe inflammation of the throat : acute 
laryngitis. One night the inflammation became 
so great that respiration was failing, and feeling 
that he was smothering, without the ability to 
help himself or even cry for the assistance of 
others, he thought he was about to die. Sud- 
denly he remembered a picture of the Jesuit 



36 THE LIFE OF YEN. GABRIEL. 

martyr Blessed Andrew Bobola, which he re- 
ceived from one of his masters. He at once 
wrapped the picture round his neck, begging Al- 
mighty God, through the merits of his servant, to 
rescue him from his peril, and solemnly renewing 
his promise to become a religious. Presently he 
fell into a gentle slumber, and awoke in the 
morning cured. The inflammation not only sub- 
sided, but had almost completely disappeared ; 
his breathing Avas easy, and on the picture of the 
saint there was a stain of matter, as it were a 
token of the favor bestowed. This time his 
mind was made up : he presented himself to the 
Father Provincial of the Jesuits, asking to be re- 
ceived into the Society, and his request Avas 
granted. But, alas ! from day to day he deferred 
the fulfilment of his promise, until truth to sa}^, 
Francis was once more under the spell of the 
secular world with all its works and pomps. He 
did not indeed, positively contradict God's in- 
spirations ; not for a moment did he doubt his 
vocation, but he was ever putting off to a future 
day the execution of his design. He was like 
one who, waking from sleep and remembering 
the call of duty, instead of rising instantly, gives 
way to his sloth, is overcome by drowsiness and 
falls asleep again. Despite all appearances to 
the contrary, there was no peace in Francesco's 
heart : for " who hath resisted God and hath had 
peace ? " 



HIS HELIGiOt^S VOCATiO]Sr. 37 

We do not know in what circumstances, or by 
Avhat influences his vocation now shaped itself 
before his mind under the austere form of the 
Passionist life. If there was an3^tliing abhorrent 
to his delicate nature, it was the thought of such 
a life. What little he then knew about it was from 
exaggerated public opinion, imphang such a com- 
plete separation from the world, and such pen- 
ances that his sensitive, pleasure-loving heart re- 
coiled from it. In his difficulty of choosing be- 
tween the institute of the Jesuits, for which he 
had been examined and approved, and that of 
the Passionists, of which he knew but little and 
perhaps cared less, he took the course dictated 
by prudence : he wrote to his director. This 
worthy clergyman, F. Peter Tedeschini, S. J., 
answered that a definite choice was to be made 
by his soul alone speaking to God alone ; that it 
was an affair to be settled in prayers and tears 
rather than in any other way. ^' Have courage,'' 
said he, "keep ever in mind the thought of Jesus 
and Mary, and of the endless existence to which 
we are all hastening. And let these thoughts be 
fruitful of results : let them influence vou 
strongly to overcome your passions ; let them in- 
spire you w^ith hatred for sin, keep 3^ou from bad 
company, fill you with contempt for all vanity 
in conduct or attire, and make you trample 
under foot all human respect. Let these 
thoughts induce you to meditate on the eternal 



38 THE LIFE OF VEN. GABRIEL. 

truths, and to receive the holy sacraments fre- 
quently : in a word, let them make you hate the 
Avorld, its maxims and desires, and all that savors 
of it." 

So, the meaning of it all was, that he should 
wait and pray. Of a certainty he praj^ed ; as 
for waiting, nothing was more congenial to him 
just then, and by sIoav degrees, he fell back again 
into his sleep of worldliness. 

The Possenti family had been considerably re- 
duced in numbers since the death of their mother 
in 1842. Two of the children, Paul and Lau- 
rence, followed her within ten years, and two 
more left the parental roof shortly after ; one (a 
daughter) to be a bride, the other (a son) to be a 
Dominican religious. Mary Louise, the eldest, 
remained at home devoting herself to her aged 
father, and with her four brothers, closed round 
him with all the greater affection as their num- 
bers were decreasing. Old Pacifica still superin- 
tended the household with energy and devoted- 
ness ; yet as Mary Louise grew up she came nat- 
urally to be looked upon as a mother by her 
much younger brothers. From his very infancy 
Francis had found in his sister all a mother's 
love and care ; no one had greater influence over 
him, or was more willingly obeyed than she, and 
no two of the family understood each other bet- 
ter. Mary Louise had just passed her twenty- 
sixth birthday, when toward the close of May, 



HIS RELIGIOUS VOCATIOIS^. 39 

1855, the dread cholera having broken out in 
Spoleto, she fell as its first victim. 

When the frightful scourge had passed, a reac- 
tion speedily set in throughout the city. Mourn- 
ing and bereavement seemed to be forgotten : 
the theatre and the draAving-room were reopened, 
and all sought to drown in gaiety their recent 
sorrows. Francesco was received in the families 
of his friends with sympathy and compassion : 
in manner he was reserved at first, then yielding 
to his buoyant spirits, and becoming interested 
in proportion to his success, he once more gave 
full rein to his passion for pleasure and worldly 
vanity. Through the great mercy of God, the 
final awakening for Francis took place shorth^ 
after, under the following circumstances. 

In ,the cathedral of Spoleto there is venerated 
an ancient picture of the Mother of God, which 
on account of its eastern origin is called Icon or 
image. It was presented to the city by the Em- 
peror Frederick Barbarossa, who sought thereby 
to conciliate the citizens after he had laid Avaste 
the surrounding country with fire and SAVord, in 
1115. The emperor treasured the sacred image 
as an heirloom brought by his forefathers from 
Constantinople, and thus saved it from the sense- 
less fury of the iconoclasts of the eighth century. 
It Avas accepted by the city as a sign of reconcili- 
ation and peace, and from that day, the merciful 
Mother rcAvarded the piety of her Spoletan 



40 THE LIFE OF VEK. GABRIEL. 

clients, and the Icon became for them a fountain 
of graces. In the year 1856, however, a signal 
miracle excited to gratitude the faith of all, and 
made all her dear children of city and country 
flock to the cathedral to celebrate tlie festival of 
the Assumption with far more than customary 
pomp. During the cholera that decimated the 
>city the Christian population had recourse to the 
Mother of Mercy : the sacred Icon was solemnly 
carried to the loggia (or balconied chamber over- 
looking the square in front of the cathedral) and 
the sorrow-stricken city was blessed with it. 
From that moment not a single new case of 
cholera was reported, and all those that were 
then sick were wonderfully cured. 

On the octave day of the Assumption there- 
fore, the titular of the cathedral, a solemn service 
of thanksgiving, was held in Spoleto, the conclud- 
ing feature of which was a devout procession in 
which the miraculous Icon was carried. 

With the grateful and enthusiastic multitude, 
our Francis repaired to the church, more through 
pious curiosity than any particular devotion, as 
he himself afterward acknowledged. Amidst 
the festive chant of the litany, the Icon was 
drawing near : Francis raised his eyes, and from 
her image, Mary cast upon him a glance that 
penetrated into his inmost heart, piercing it as 
with a dart of fire ; at the same time, he heard a 
voice within his soul, a distinct interior locution, 



HIS RELIGIOUS VOCATION. 41 

that said to him : Why ! thou art not made for 
the world ! . . . What art thou doing in 
the world ? . . . Hasten, become a reli- 
gious ! . . . 

No sound had struck the external air, the Icon 
passed by, and soon the echoes of the litany 
ceased, and the people dispersed to their homes, 
but the boy remained kneeling, his head bowed, 
his heart basking in the sunshine of interior 
peace. The victory was won ! Such was the 
efficacy of that voice that it was forever en- 
shrined in his memory, and as an additional 
proof of its celestial origin, from that moment 
a complete transformation came over his affec- 
tions and inclinations ; he had no thought, no 
desire, but that of following his vocation. When 
he realized the greatness of the favor accorded to 
him, giving way to his feelings, he burst into 
tears. Mary, who in the midst of his dangers 
had always protected him : Mary, by a miracle 
conquered all his repugnance, and changed liis 
spirit of procrastination into determined resolu- 
tion. ... . He was to be a Passionist. On 
arriving home, the traces of his emotion were 
visible on his countenance, but he was more than 
usually cheerful : he had made up his mind, and 
peace was in his soul. At once he sought his 
confessor, F. Bompiani, S. J., who was likewise 
his instructor in philosophy, and the following is 
his account of what transpired. '' I do not re- 



42 THE LIFE OF VEIS^. GABRIEL. 

member that Francis Possenti had ever mani- 
fested to me any inclination for the religious 
state ; so quite unexpectedly, a certain Sunda}^ 
afternoon in August, 1856, he asked for a private 
interview. He then candidly opened his heart 
concerning his intention of becoming a Passionist 
religious. I examined the matter thoroughly, 
both on account of its novelty and its strange- 
ness (considering the boy's character). I cross- 
questioned him as to his motives, and made the 
most of the difficulties that he would encounter 
in the religious state of life. Our conversation 
in fact, lasted quite a while, but the signs of a 
real vocation were so unmistakable, that I ad- 
vised him to notify his father of his intentions, 
and take the necessary steps to carry them into 
effect. At once he made formal application to 
the Provincial of the Passionists, including in his 
letter F. Bompiani's attestation of his moral 
character and proficiency in studies, and waited 
patiently (perhaps we should say impatiently) for 
a favorable reply. Meanwhile the scholastic 
year was drawing to its close, and the commence- 
ment was at hand. Francis determined that 
whether the reply to his application came before 
that day or not, it Avould be the utmost limit of 
his waiting. And it seems that he had grave 
reasons for not delaying, because as he afterward 
acknowledged to his spiritual director, he soon 
found out that had he tarried a single day longer, 



HIS RELIGIOUS VOCATION. 43 

the world and the devil were preparing for him 
a snare of such a nature, that he might indeed 
have set his vocation aside ; and that furthermore 
he was intimately convinced that our Lord would 
never have called him again." 

But now came the painful task of acquainting 
his father with his resolution, and asking his con- 
sent and blessing. Summoning courage, and 
begging interiorly the divine assistance, one 
night, after the usual devotions of the household 
were over, he informed his father that he desired 
to speak to him in private. But no sooner were 
they alone, than Francis, overpowered by his 
feelings, burst into tears and sobs, unable for the 
moment to deal a blow that was so painful. 
Signor Possenti wondered at such an unlooked- 
for demonstration, and encouraged him to open 
his heart with freedom and all candor. When 
Francis could trust himself to speak, he said, 
" Father, I have made up my mind to become a 
religious, and I desire your consent and blessing." 
On hearing such a declaration, Signor Possenti 
could hardly refrain from laughing outright. 
"You want to be a religious, my son? . . . 
IvhyjV said he, smiling, "your life has been one 
x>f - vanity and pleasure. . . . How would 
you wear a rough cassock, you who have always 
been so particular about your clothes? Then 
see, my dear boy, your vocation is nothing but a 
sudden notion : no sooner has the fancv struck 



44 THE LIFE OF VEN. GABRIEL. 

you, than you want to run off someAvhere or 
other, and then perhaps come back in disgrace. 
My son, that will never do : you must take time, 
and discuss the matter with your director. If 
you have a real vocation, time will tell." But 
Francis foresaw these objections, and was well 
prepared to answer them. 

" Father," said he, " you are mistaken in sup- 
posing that my desire to enter the religious state 
is grounded on a sudden fancy : I have thought 
it over for a long while : in fact, I had a lengthy 
interview with my spiritual director. At first 
he spoke to me just like you, but at last he ex- 
pressed himself fully satisfied : and it is with his 
approval that I broach the subject to you: he 
told me to do it. Besides, father, fearing my 
own weakness and procrastination, I have already 
made application to the Provincial of the Pas- 
sionists to be received amongst them." 

Here was a double surprise for the good man. 
That his son should wish to become a religious 
was serious enough, but what about becoming n 
Passionist? "My son," said he, •' what do you 
know about those religious ? Have you any idea 
how hard their rule is ? " And then the afflicted 
father with all the affection of his heart backed 
by the subtlety of the practiced lawyer, began 
to represent all the difficulties that he could think 
of, if not to disabuse his son of his resolution, at 
least to. gain time. But Francis threw himself 



HIS RELIGIOUS VOCATION. 45 

at his father's feet, assuring him that he would 
not arise until his consent was granted. Signor 
Possenti knew not what to do : it seemed utterly 
useless to try to make his son relinquish his de- 
sire : to yield at once might be imprudent. At 
last, wishing to effect a compromise, he told his 
son that Avhile he could not refuse him conscien- 
tiously, still he was not quite prepared to give 
his approval unreservedly : he assured him that 
he would consider the matter at once, and would 
tell him of his decision later. 

AVhen Francis had retired, who can describe 
the perplexities of his father's heart ? Did God 
really ask for the sacrifice? He had already 
given to religion his eldest son Aloysius, who 
joined the Dominicans ; another son, Henry, had 
just entered the seminary to study for the priest- 
hood ; two more of his sons had died within a 
few years, in the flower of their young manhood ; 
his two daughters had left him, Teresa to follow 
her husband to a distant city, and Mary Louise, 
the sweet angel of the home, for heaven. . . . 
He was now sixty-six years old. . . . Should 
he be left alone now that the infirmities of age 
were coming upon him ? . . . He had looked 
up to Francis, the brightest and most amiable of 
his remaining children, as the stay of his declining 
years and the glory of the family. . . . Could 
he live without this well-loved son, or permit him 
to shut himself up in a poor Passionist monas- 



46 THE LIFE OF YEN. GABRIEL. 

tery ? . . . Yet he was a Christian, a man 
of faith. It might break his heart to lead this 
child of his love to the mountain of sacrifice, but 
if God so commanded, he would obey. . . . 

Two persons principally were to help the pru- 
dent father to come to an enlightened decision, 
his own son Aloysius, a Dominican, who was then 
on a visit to his family, and the Vicar-General of 
Loretto, F. Caesar Acquacotta, a man of piety 
and learning, and an old friend of Signor Pos- 
senti. 

Francis had no great difficulty in winning over 
his brother to his side. Aloysius reported favor- 
ably to his father, and that same evening the 
general arrangements for departure were agreed 
upon. Father Aloysius on the way back to his 
religious home had to pass through Loretto, and 
after visiting the sacred shrine of Our Lady, they 
were to call on F. Acquacotta. Francesco was 
to present a letter from his father to the vicar 
asking the latter as an old friend of the family, 
to examine the boy's vocation, and authorizing 
him to give in Signor Possenti's name, the neces- 
sary approval and consent. Furthermore as a 
last resort to test his son's vocation, it was agreed 
that from Loretto a visit should be made to Mor- 
rovalle, not far distant, where the Passionist no- 
vitiate was situated. Perhaps, thought tlie pru- 
dent parent, a visit to the lonely monastery might 
have more effect than all other arguments com- 



HIS RELIGIOUS VOCATION. 47 

bined, and divest his son's resolution of the glamour 
of poetry and enthusiasm, when standing face to 
face with the uninviting reality. 

Francis was well satisfied with such a plan, in 
fact nothing could have pleased him better ; for 
in his sincere determination, he felt proof against 
any persuasion or hindrance whatsoever. The 
next morning he was found kneeling in gratitude 
before the image of Our Lady of Sorrows in the 
church of the Servite Fathers. This day, the 
5th of September, 1859, was the last day he was 
to spend in the world as a secular ; it was like- 
wise the date of the " commencement " exercises' 
at the Jesuit College. The audience assembled 
in the spacious hall, and was composed of the 
most brilliant society of the city. Monsignor 
(ruadalupi, the Apostolic Delegate, presided, sup- 
ported by the Archbishop of Spoleto on the one 
side, and Signor Possenti, the chief magistrate, 
on the other. It was a day of triumph for our 
Francis. He had been selected to deliver the in- 
troductory discourse, for he was confessedly with- 
out a rival not only in gracefulness of person and 
carriage, but especially in oratorical excellence. 
His friend, Bonaccia, describes him very minutely 
as he stood on the stage on that memorable occa- 
sion. " His clothes," he says, " were unusually 
elegant ; a matchless and richly -folded shirt front 
adorned with jewels ; bright buttons on his cuffs; 
a silk cravat around his neck ; his hair studiously 



48 THE LIFE OF YEN. GABRIEL. 

parted : add to this picture, his Avhite kid gloves 
and patent leather shoes, and we have a pen-pic- 
ture of young Francis Possenti as he stood smiling 
and serene, facing his many friends and the dis- 
tinguished audience, about to be the pleased spec- 
tators of his triumphs. I have always felt," con- 
tinues his friend and biographer, '' that Francesco 
thus appeared in all the vain ornaments of the 
world, to bid his farewell to it forever, and to 
show how poorly he esteemed such baubles by 
turning his back upon them, at the very moment 
when he was the recipient of so many honors and 
so much applause. At the end of the exercises, 
when Francis was called before the Delegate to 
receive the gold medal for excellence in all his 
studies, the whole assembly testified its joy, and 
Signor Possenti was voted the happiest of fath- 
ers in having such a distinguished son, the Apos- 
tolic Delegate himself publicly congratulating 
him in the warmest terms. . . . But alas, 
poor father. . . . He alone knew his son's 
secret ; and the more he witnessed and realized 
his son's merit, the more keenly did he feel his 
own impending loss." 

On reaching home, after bidding good-bye to 
his many friends, who all imagined that he was 
merely going to spend his vacation in the coun- 
try, Francis found the household in commotion. 
At the last moment the news had been told by 
the afflicted parent. The morning of that day 



HIS RELIGIOUS VOCATION. 49 

had dawned on the brightest hopes, its noon had 
shone on congratulations and glory, but it closed 
in tears. 

The great news could not remain a secret. 
The next morning it spread among the students, 
and surprise was visible on every face. Toward 
the close of the scholastic course, the choice of a 
state of life is generally a topic of conversation 
in a college. That particular year, the Passion- 
is ts were spoken of, for two of the collegians had 
left for the novitiate shortly before ; but when a 
third candidate was mentioned, and that one 
Francis Possenti, it was like a thunderbolt from 
a clear sky. Whatever may have been their 
opinions, and they were various, all felt sincerely 
sorry to lose their talented companion, whom 
all loved for his excellent qualities and kind dis- 
position. But when they found out their loss, 
Francesco was already miles on the road to the 
cloister. 



50 THE LIFE OF YEjS". GABKIEL, 



HIS JOUENEY TO THE ISTOVITIATE. 

** A man's enemies shall be they of his own household.'* 

FRAisrcis bade adieu to his good father and 
brothers, and set out for Loretto with his brother 
F. Aloysius, on September 6th, 1856, arriving at 
the holy shrine on the evening of the day follow- 
ing. Next to Jerusalem and Bethlehem, there 
is perhaps no pilgrimage dearer to the heart of 
Mary's children or frequented in greater num- 
bers, than the Santa Casa^ or Holy House. 
Loretto now possesses this inestimable treasure. 
This is the very dwelling wherein our Blessed 
Mother was born, in which Gabriel, the angel of 
the Lord declared unto Mary and she conceived 
by the Holy Ghost, the identical house in which 
"the Word was made flesh and dwelt among 
us"; the house that in 1291 was carried by 
angel-hands from Nazareth to Dalmatia, to save 
it from the fanatical Turks, and was transported 
once more from Dalmatia, over the Adriatic sea 
to the laurel-fields, Loretto, where it is now ven- 
erated. 

Our travelers arrived in the city after the Holy 
House was closed ; " but the next morning at 



HIS JOUKNEY TO THE ISTOVITIATE. 51 

daybreak," F. Aloysius says, ''in spite of the 
fatigue of our journey, my brother was already 
in the church, where he remained in prayer until 
after eight o'clock, the hour appointed to meet 
our uncle, the Yicar-General, Canon Acquacotta. 
He receired us with the greatest cordiality, and 
insisted on our remaining till the morrow. After 
a brief interview, his duties called him away, and 
we all repaired to the church to assist at the 
solemn office and mass, that being the festival of 
Our Lady's nativity. At the conclusion of din- 
ner, my uncle called us apart, and he then under- 
took the task of examinino: mv brother's voca- 
tion, and changing his resolution of joining the 
Passionists." 

This was to be the first of the last three 
battles which tried our hero's constancy, and all 
three came from his relations : so true is it that 
" a man's enemies will be those of his own house- 
hold." The canon commenced by alleging all the 
arguments he could think of, attacking the boy's 
vocation from every quarter : he placed before 
him forcibly the difficulties with which he would 
have to contend, and the weakness of human 
nature in general, to say nothing of Gabriel's 
delicate constitution in particular, when measured 
against such an austere rule. " Who better than 
I," said he, ''ought to know what kind of a life 
they lead ? I was amongst them myself during 
the troubles of 1848, and I assure vou, I still re- 



52 THE LIFE OF VETs^. GABRIEL. 

member with painful clearness the hardships of 
the Passionist observance : and you, my dear 
nephew, without any experience, brought up in 
the midst of plenty, witli no strength to boast of 
either, want to join them ! How on earth will 
you be able to stand tlie strain by night as well 
as by day ? My dear boy," he concluded, '' don't 
allow yourself to be deceived by a sudden fit of 
fervor. This matter is a little too serious for you 
to run any unnecessary risks. Don't be in such 
a hurry : take plenty of time and think over it ; 
but of course, if you are wedded to your own 
opinion, and come to find j^our mistake later on, 
remember that j^ou'll have nobody to blame but 
yourself." 

Simply, but very earnestly, Francis replied to 
his uncle's reasoning, by assuring him that there 
could be no fair doubt entertained of his religious 
vocation. Then he proceeded to explain in the 
greatest detail, the history of his call to a higher 
life : that so far from its being a sudden whim, 
originating in his imagination, on the contrary, 
it was a grace against which he had been strug- 
gling for years, and that nothing short of the 
firmest conviction that it was God's will for him 
to be a religious, induced him to obey ; — and as 
far as the Congregation of the Passionists was 
concerned, their austerities were certainly not 
more than their rule enjoined ; and if some of 
his companions succeeded, why shouldn't he ? — 



( 



HIS JOURNEY TO THE NOVITIATE. 53 

and finally as to health, God would not have 
called him to such an order, unless He intended 
to help him according to his need, 

I^ow, the canon being an enlightened and 
holy man, saw in the speech and manner of the 
boy before him, all the signs of a true vocation. 
He at once wrote the result of this examination 
to Signor Possenti. Meanwhile he encouraged 
Francis to be faithful, and to walk steadfastly in 
the arduous path which he had chosen. Instead 
of sharing in the festivities in honor of the day, 
which were to take place in the public squai-e, 
Francis preferred to spend the whole evening in 
the church, pouring forth his soul in thanksgiv- 
ing to God, and asking for the protection of tiie 
Yirgin-Mother. He next made a general con- 
fession of his w^hole life, and received Holy Com- 
munion the ensuing morning at the altar of the 
Holy House, and set out with his brother for the 
Passionist novitiate. On their way they tarried 
for a while at the home of their mother's parents. 
Eight welcome they were indeed, and the most 
cordial hospitality Avas tendered them : but no 
sooner had they heard of Francesco's intentions 
than everything changed very unpleasantly. He 
at once became the object of the unfavorable re- 
marks and stinging jests of the whole family. 
Every one seemed to have the right to interpret 
his conduct, and to pester him with uncalled-for 
advice. " Why should he give up the brilliant 



54 THE LIFE OF VE]S^. GABKIEL. 

prospects of life ? . . . Why couldn't he save 
his soul as a good secular ? . . . Why couldn't 
he remain outside the cloister, and edify the world 
like his good father? ... At least, — if he 
wanted to become a secular priest, all right 
. . . but for him to burv himself in a monas- 
tery, and what was worse, to join the Passionists 
. . . why, the very idea was silly. . . . 
He ought to have better sense. . . . Was it 
right for such a clever son to break his father's 
heart by leaving home? . . . Was that all 
his poor father deserved from him, for all that 
he had done for his son's welfare ? . . ." 

What could our Francis say ? . . . It is a 
hard thing to be misunderstood by those whom 
we love, it is distressing to be derided by those 
whom we reverence. The warmth of their wel- 
come was chilled by the sadness of parting. In 
their judgment, the boy was stubborn, he was 
obstinate ; but they knew right well that he 
Avould soon be sorry, and retrace his steps ! — Of 
a truth, "a man's enemies shall be they of his 
own household." 

Toward evening the two brothers having re- 
sumed their journey, arrived at Morrovalle, their 
journey's end. There was in the town itself a 
Capuchin monaster}^ the superior of which was 
the uncle of our travelers, so thev determined to 
call upon him. Here again Francis had to stand 
his ground, for his zealous uncle seemed to doubt 



HIS JOURNEY TO THE NOVITIATE. 55 

the genuineness of the young man's vocation. 
The battle of Loretto had to be fought over again. 
''Look here," said F. John Baptist, "look at this 
poor tunic of mine : isn't it rough enough for 
anybody ? Well, I tell you that the habit worn 
by those Passionist Fathers is yet worse." 

But all in vain : with the same simplicity and 
lirmness with which he pleaded his cause before 
the Vicar-General, Francis answered the guard- 
ian's objections. God had clearly shown that 
He called him to that state of life, and he was 
resolved to trust to God's grace and mercy. The 
good superior listened patiently to the young 
man, and he was not only satisfied with his argu- 
ments, but with the straightforwardness of an 
unselfish soul, he actually rejoiced at being van- 
quished, and promised moreover to introduce 
him the next morning to the Master of Novices, 
who was the friar's personal friend. 

On the morning, then, of the 10th of Septem- 
ber, 1856, Francis, with his two companions, 
walked to the retreat of the Passionists, three 
miles outside of the citv. . . . O blessed 
congregation which was about to receive so 
great a treasure I — the worthy offspring of pious 
Christian parents, educated by the sons of La 
Salle and Loyola, bedewed with grace in the 
sanctuary of the Servites of Mary, — it belonged 
to the sons of Dominic and Francis to plant with 
their own hands in the humble garden of the 



56 THE LIFE OF VEX. GAEKIEL. 

Passion, this predestined soul, this blessed seed 
that was to bring forth such flowers of virtue 
and fruits of holiness, the glory of which belongs 
to them all. But who can describe the joy of 
Francis himself, when for the first time he rested 
his eyes on the blessed retreat that was to sepa- 
rate him from the world, to bring peace to his 
soul and unite him to his God ? The boy's heart 
leaped for joy when he stood on the threshold 
of the cloister, and saw the doors of the monas- 
tery opening for him. 

And yet, he was not without apprehension. 
AVould he be received ? . . . No answer had 
reached him from the F. Provincial, to whom he 
had written asking for admission. . . . If not 
expected, would he be allowed to remain ? . . . 
Such were his reflections as the company waited 
in the plain parlor. But the cheerful appearance 
of the Master of Novices dispelled his misgivings : 
he was expected. A favorable answer had been 
sent, but Signor Possenti probably judged it bet- 
ter to keep the letter. On the other hand, when 
the Provincial heard nothing further from the 
young candidate, and fearing lest his letter Avent 
astray, he wrote a second time, reaflirming his 
acceptance and urging Francis to solicit his 
father's consent, and start at once. This last let- 
ter, however, reached Spoleto only after the two 
brothers were on their journey to Loretto and 
Morrovalle, leaving them in a state of great un- 



HIS JOURNEY TO THE NOVITIATE. 57 

easiness, under the circumstances. There was 
just one vacancy at the time in the novitiate, 
and the postulant was entrusted to the care of 
the Vice-Master, who introduced Francis to his 
new companions. He was safe at last I — he found 
himself in the midst of the children of the Pas- 
sion ! The sight of tlie religious habit, the peace- 
ful oratory, the solitary cells, the simple piety 
and joyful mirth depicted on every face : — all 
made him feel happy, for among his new-found 
brethren he was at home. 

It had been arranged by their uncle, that this 
should be only a preliminary visit, and that Fran- 
cis should return to the Capuchin convent, and 
go thence on a visit to Montegiorgio, where his 
aunt lived ; but when he found himself secure in 
the harbor of religion, it was useless to expect 
him to launch his bark anew on the troubled 
waves of the secular world. He gently refused 
to leave the retreat. He might have a chance, 
said he, to visit those relatives some other time, 
but it was plainly out of the question for him 
just then. " The next morning when I called," 
says his brother Aloysius, "I found him more 
than happy. He requested me to make known 
his contentment to our father also: and thus, we 
bade one another farewell." 



58 THE LIFE OF YEN. GABRIEL. 



YI. 

LIFE 11S[ THE IN^OVITIATE. 

It is customary that a postulant before being 
admitted to take the religious habit, shall live in 
his secular dress in company with our brethren 
for some time, according to the prudence and de- 
termination of the superiors and seniors of the 
novitiate, that his suitableness may be gauged 
by a preliminary trial. Afterward, he devoted 
himself during ten days to sacred exercises and 
pious meditations, that being thereby more and 
more enlightened and united with God, he may be 
better prepared to make the sacrifice of himself. 
Two of his fellow-students from the college had 
preceded Francis by a few days and were to be 
admitted to vestition on the third Sunday of 
September, and to his great delight, Francis, 
having made his formal petition before the fath- 
ers of the local Chapter, was allowed to commence 
his spiritual retreat with his old friends, the next 
day after his arrival. 

On receiving the religious habit, the candidate 
changes his name, — a usage common to many 
ancient orders, and which we find mentioned 
frequently in the Scriptures. The fact of impos- 



LIFE ijsr THE :n^oyitiate. 59 

ing a name is indicative of authority over the 
person thus called, whilst for him it is symbolic 
of the advice of the Holy Ghost " to put off, ac- 
cording to your former conversation, the old 
man who is corrupted according to the desire of 
error; and be renewed in the spirit of your 
mind, and put on the new man, who, according 
to God, is created in justice and holiness of 
truth." Furthermore, there is added to the 
new name a title, reminding the novice of st)me 
special devotion. Thus, in the case before us, 
Francesco Possenti became known to his breth- 
ren at home, and the Christian world abroad, as 
Brother, (or as we call it) Conf rater Gabriel of 
the Sorrowful Virgin. By this name, therefore, 
will he be called henceforward, and we shall see 
how fully it was justified and illustrated in the 
whole tenor of his religious life. 

As the days of his retreat of preparation went 
on, the Holy Spirit kindled in the heart of the 
postulant a fervor, of which we may judge from 
the following incident, and which will likew^ise 
explain why the capitular fathers reduced to its 
minimum the time of the preliminary probation. 

In our novitiate the novices frequently give 
an account of their meditation. Now it hap- 
pened, as F. Norbert, the Vice-Master relates, 
" that on one of the few days before Gabriel's 
vestition, there came over to Morrovalle on a 
day's recreation the students of the neighboring 



60 THE LIFE OF VEN. GABRIEL. 

retreat of Recanati, with tlicir director. The 
latter passing by the chapter-room of the nov- 
ices, whilst they were giving an account of their 
prayer, chanced to overhear a few words that 
struck him ; and yiekliiig to curiosity, he stopped 
and listened to what u^as being said at the gath- 
ering of the novices. Kow, the sentiments, re- 
flections and applications were such that they 
made an extraordinary impression upon his 
mind. When he called on the master, he in- 
quired who the novice was that had given an 
account of his prayer : and great was his wonder 
on learning that it was a J^oung man who had 
arrived in the monastery only a few^ days before." 
What the day of his betrothal is to a youthful 
lover, such to the future religious is the day on 
which he is betrothed to the religious institute 
of his choice. For him it is truly " the da}^ of 
the joy of his heart." This joy can be realized 
fully only by those who have actually expe- 
rienced its ineffable consolations ; but it is not 
difficult to surmise that these consolations must 
have been particularly intense in a soul so well 
prepared by the Holy Ghost, as was that of our 
dear Gabriel. During the ceremony of receiving 
the habit, his tears could not escape the notice of 
his companions ; that same evening too he wept, 
when according to custom, he knelt in the refec- 
tory, and publicly thanked the communit}^ for 
having received him into the congregation. 



LIFE IT^ THE NOVITIATE. 61 

He wrote at once to his father and brothers at 
home about this great event, and the depths to 
which his soul was stirred are evident in every 
line of his letter. It runs as follows : 

Morrovalle, Sept. 21st, 1856. 

My dear Father : — The day has come at 
last. The Almighty had been calling me for a 
long time, whilst I ungratefully turned a deaf 
ear to His voice, by enjoying the world and dis- 
pleasing Him ; but His infinite mercy sweetly 
disposed all things, and to-day the feast of Our 
Lady of Sorrows, our Mother and Protector, I 
was clothed in the holy habit, taking the name 
of Confrater Gabriel, of the Seven Dolors. 

Up to the present, my dear father, I have 
not experienced anything but pleasure, whether 
as regards this religious congregation, or my vo- 
cation to it. Oh, rest assured that w^ hosoever is 
called to the religious state receives a grace that 
he will never be able fully to comprehend ! 

My excellent F. Master and Yice-Master send 
their kind regards together with my own. My 
greetings to the Jesuits and Oratorians, as well 
as to all enquiring friends. 

Begging your blessing, dearest Father, 
I remain your affectionate son, 

COIS^FRATER GaBR ^L, 

Of the Dolors of Mary, Pass^'onist. 



62 THE LIFE OF YEK. GABRIEL. 

This was his first letter to his family and 
friends : this was th© first time that he could 
publicly style himself a Passionist, and call him- 
self by his new name. He gloried in being a 
Knight of Jesus Crucified, and never did maiden 
delight in elegant finerj^, or prince in gold-em- 
broidered robe, as did Gabriel in the livery of 
the Passion that he wore. Often did he assert 
that he would not exchange his poor, rough tunic 
for a royal mantle ; daily would he kiss his habit 
with unspeakable devotion. 

Still, " the habit does not make the monk." 
By its modest singularity, the religious garb is 
emblematic of separation from the world, not 
necessarily in bod}^ but in customs, principles, 
and conduct — that is in spirit. Is it not evident 
that the love of God, and the love of " the 
things which are in the world " cannot coexist 
in the same heart ? No man can serve two mas- 
ters. The attempt to effect a compromise be- 
tween them, was as we have seen, the error and 
the danger of this servant of God in his secular 
days, until the grace of God triumphed at last, 
and set him free. That such a victory should be 
the fruit of arduous combat and prayer, is the 
ordinary rule of the supernatural life; but that 
it should be brought about as it were instan- 
taneously is indeed a wonder. Such a remarkable 
phenomenon, however, we have now to consider, 
and in Gabriel's own words, it may be aptl}^ 



LIFE liS^ THE IS^OYITIATE. 63 

styled "his conversion." Hitherto he had loved 
the world as far as was compatible with the 
state of grace, but no sooner did he enter the 
cloister than he could say with Christ's apostle 
'' The world is crucified to me, and I to the 
world." 

The first great marvel in the life of our hero, 
is his perfect aversion to the world, and every- 
thing belonging to it. Such a transformation 
was effected simply by the predilection of God 
for this chosen soul, to whom He imparted the 
spirit of his vocation not gradually and by in- 
stalments, but rather in its fulness, from the 
very beginning of his religious life. All at once, 
he was a changed man, with a new mind, a new 
heart, new desires, new affections : grace had 
suddenly conquered and transformed nature. It 
would sometimes happen that the conversation 
of his companions would innocently turn on 
some secular topics : on such occasions Confrater 
Gabriel would dextrously strive to divert it into 
different channels ; and should this prove im- 
practicable, then would he pass such subjects 
over as lightly and as quickly as possible. In one 
Avord then, from the day of his receiving the 
holy habit, Gabriel put on the new man, and of 
his former self there was absolutely no trace left. 
Against the pleasures of the world, of which he 
had been so fond, he now conceived a hatred that 
vented itself in his correspondence. He thus 



64 THE LIFE OF VEIN^. GABRIEL. 

writes to one of his old-time companions : " My 
dearest friend : You are right in saying that 
the world is full of stumbling-blocks, and that it 
is a very hard thing to save one's soul in it ; yet 
3^ou must not give up courage, for even in the 
secular world it is not impossible to become hol}^ 

" Dear Philip, if you truly love your soul, shun 
evil companions ; shun the theatre. I know by 
experience how very difficult it is while entering 
such places in the state of grace, to come away 
without either having lost it, or at least exposed it 
to great danger. Shun pleasure-parties, and shun 
evil books. I assure you that if I had remained 
in the world, it seems certain to me that I would 
not have saved my soul. Tell me, could any one 
have indulged in more amusements than I? 
Well, and what is the result ? — nothing but bit- 
terness and fear. 

''Dear Philip, do not despise me, for it is my 
heart that speaks. I ask ^^our pardon for all the 
scandal that I may have given you ; and I protest 
that whatever evil I may have spoken about 
any one, I now unsay it, and beg of you to forget 
it all, and to pray for me that God may forgive 
me likewise." 

That our Gabriel was more than exaggerated 
in self-condemnation, can easily be gathered 
from the preceding chapters ; his friends were 
unanimous in asserting that nothing seriously 
reprehensible was ever seen in his conduct ; the 



LIFE IN THE KOVITIATE. 65 

companions to whom he alludes, were such as 
may be met with even in some of our best col- 
leges ; the entertainments to which he refers, 
would be considered as select from an ordinary 
standpoint ; the theatres of the Pontifical States 
were not as licentious as the best in this country ; 
the romances of which he speaks would be 
deemed choice literature, when judged by the 
standards set up by our newspapers, magazines 
and cheap novels. 

Instead of decreasing, Gabriel's aversion for 
the pleasures of the world went on increasing in 
proportion as he became more enlightened from 
on high. A few weeks before his precious death, 
when already in the dawn of that light that 
never faileth, he wrote these words in his last 
letter to his father : " I do naught but bless the 
merciful hand of the Blessed Virgin that rescued 
me from the world." These strong words need 
not surprise any one who remembers the language 
of St. John the evangelist : " I write to you, 
young men, because you are strong, and the 
word of God abideth in jou, and you have over- 
come the wicked one. Love not the Avorld, nor 
the things that are in the world. If any man 
love the world, the charity of the Father is not in 
him : for all that is in the Avorld is the concupis- 
cence of the flesh, and the concupiscence of the 
eyes, and the pride of life, which is not of the 
Father, but is of the world. And the world 



66 THE LIFE OF VEN. GABRIEL. 

passeth away, and the concupiscence thereof; 
but he that doeth the will of God, abideth for- 
ever." (1 John ii. 14-17.) 

But if Christ demands separation from the world 
in all His disciples, He requires something more 
perfect from those who wish to follow Him closely. 
To those only who abandon house and brethren, 
and sisters, father, mother and children and 
lands for His sake, does He promise the hun- 
dredfold here below, and life everlasting after- 
ward. Pie alone, who has made this sacrifice, 
can tell how difiicult it is : a sacrifice all the 
more painful as it immolates for the sake of di- 
vine love, affections which of themselves are per- 
fectly legitimate : all the more heroic, as it is 
only a counsel, there being no law that abso- 
lutelv exacts it. The memories of our native 
land and home, .of former friends and associa- 
tions are deeply imbedded in our hearts by the 
hand of nature : but from the day Gabriel set his 
foot in the cloister, he showed himself so com- 
pletely detached from all such things, that he 
never brought them up as topics for conversa- 
tion, except on rare occasions, and then only for 
the sake of some edifying reflection. 

The letters he received from home, he Avould 
never unseal, even with the permission of his su- 
perior ; he would not even take them into his 
hands nor read them, unless obedience obliged 
him to do so. ''Do you assure me," he would 



LIl^^K IN THE KOVITIATE. «7 

say, " that I will not have to answer to God for 
this ? " So that, as a rule, his superiors had to 
read his letters for him ; and even then, Gabriel 
would ask them to tell him only what was neces- 
sary and to the point, passing over everj^thing 
else. In the beginning he showed an extreme 
aversion to correspond with any one ; so much 
so, that the Father Master of the novitiate judg- 
ing this tendency to be exaggerated and excess- 
ive, had to urge him from time to time to write 
to his family. In this however it was with diffi- 
culty that he prevailed over GabriePs reluctance. 
The novice would frequently show how distaste- 
ful letter-writing was to him by asking questions 
like these : " Father, do the others write to their 
parents ? . . . Do you take upon yourself in 
this matter, whatever violation of the rmle there 
may be ? . . ." 

The fervent young man however, soon came 
to know and understand better the vrisdom and 
prudence of his rule, and with a docile mind he 
obeyed it ; for, although " the writing of fre- 
Cjuent and unnecessary letters to relatives " is not 
encouraged, still the peligious " are recommended 
to follow, as a general rule, the custom of the 
congregation, namely of writing home three or 
four times a year." 

This, however, could not satisfy Signor Pos- 
senti : hence, a month had hardly elapsed since 
his son had been clothed in the Passionist habit, 



68 THE LIFE OP VEN. GABRIEL. 

when the novice had to answer the gentle re- 
monstrances of his anxious and affectionate 
father. ''My dear father," he wrote, ''you tell 
me that I ought to write twice a month, but this 
is impossible : still F. Master bids me inform you 
that over and above the ordinary times, he Avill 
not fail to allow me to write if I ever stand in 
need of anything, or have any special communi- 
cation to make. For the rest, be assured that I 
am very well, and will not fail to avail myself of 
the above permission whenever necessary." This 
last assurance, however, had to be renewed more 
dian once to his over-anxious parent. 

More jealous still was our young novice to 
avoid visits that would have brought him back 
to a world, from which he was so glad to escape. 
He did not wish his solitude to be broken in upon 
by seculars, whether relatives or friends. The 
reader may recollect that on account of Gabriel's 
eagerness to enter the novitiate, a visit to his 
relatives in the neighboring city of Montegiorgio 
was deferred. No sooner had the ensuing spring- 
arrived, than his uncle wrote to Signor Possenti 
informing him that they were organizing a large 
party to call on Gabriel at his retreat in Mor- 
rovalle, thinking no doubt, that the young reli- 
gious would enjoy " a day off " just as much as 
they. But no sooner did the fervent novice hear 
of this, than he overcame his dislike for letter- 
writing, and at once begged his father to make 



LIFE IN THE JSrOVITIATE. 69 

them postpone their visit until after his profes- 
sion ; and with great delicacy he added : " Let 
not the thought cross your mind that I have been 
influenced or even advised by my superiors in 
this matter. Indeed, they would show them- 
selves indifferent about such things, and would 
put no obstacle in my way. Pardon me, dear 
father, and kindly comply with my wishes." His 
friends showed themselves quite reasonable ; 
they only changed their plans, but they did not 
give them up. They took him at his word and 
Avhen his term of noviceship was over, they pre- 
pared a great reception for him at their own 
home. When Gabriel learned this, he wrote 
thus to his father : " In your last letter j^ou 
spoke of the proposed outing to Montegiorgio, 
the time having now arrived Avhen it might be 
allowed. But, my dear father, shall I speak to 
you frankly ? Well, then, let me tell you that I 
see no necessity at all for such a visit : and not 
only this, but I deem it incompatible with 
my present state of life and not at all con- 
ducive to my spiritual welfare. Besides, such 
visits are not customary among Passionists. 
How then could I, only just professed, dare 
to ask my superiors for a privilege which 
the senior religious do not request ? Still, if I 
have to pass through that city (and it is likely 
enough, since we are about to open a retreat 
hard by) then, I may avail myself of the oppor- 



70 THE LIITE OE YEN. GABRIEL. 

tunity, and permission will not be refused." His 
friends were as edified as they were disappointed 
by this letter, and in face of his fervent earnest- 
ness they gracefully submitted. A few months 
after his profession he was transferred to Pieve- 
torina, where he was visited bv his brother 
Michael, and good old Pacifica. On all such oc- 
casions, he showed himself extremely courteous, 
affable and cheerful, but as soon as politeness 
v/ould allow, or the observance bell summoned him 
to some community exercise, he at once took 
leave of his visitors. Once only, during his year 
of probation, did obedience bring him into the 
midst of his relatives. The legal settlement of 
certain family affairs was to take place at Per mo, 
not far distant from Montegiorgio. " I was the 
one who accompanied him," writes P. Norbert, 
his Vice-Master. " He met his sister Teresa in 
the office, and held conv^erse Avith her for some 
time declaring his content of mind and happi- 
ness, discoursing on spiritual matters quite unaf- 
fectedly. What he said to her, I of course do 
not know, but I remember that she seemed very 
much impressed and edified." "Although we 
had not met for a long time," she writes herself 
in the processes, '' my brother never spoke to me 
until his superior gave him permission." '' We 
took occasion of our presence in Permo," P. Nor- 
bert continues, "to pay a visit to the college of 
the Jesuit Pathers, with some of whom, espe- 



LIFE IN THE KG VITIATE. 71 

cially F. Cardella,^ and F. Eossi the rector, Con- 
frater Gabriel was well acquainted. The latter 
took me aside and asked : ' How does this young 
man conduct himself ?...'' Very well 
indeed,' I answered. 'But,' insisted F. Rossi, 
' he used to be someAvhab giddy.' ' The grace of 
his vocation has remedied that,' I replied. ' He 
is a youth of strong purpose, as fervent and vir- 
tuous as can be desired, and if he so continues, 
as we have every reason to hope, he will really 
hecome a sctint.'^ " 

^ This venerable religious is at present in New York, attached 
to St. Francis Xavier's Church, i6th Street. 



72 THE LIFE OF VEK. GABRIEL. 



VII. 
HIS AFFECTIOIS^S SPIRITUALIZED. 

IiS" joining the religious state, no one is re- 
quired to suppress his God-given nature ; or to 
smother the affections of his heart ; all that 
Christ asks from a religious is that he spiritualize 
and purify his love : that he disengage his aifec- J 

tions from all that is merely sensible and selfish. 
There are now extant some twenty-six letters 
written by Confrater Gabriel, during the six 
years he spent in religion, and the greater num- 
ber were addressed to his father and brothers at 
home. Written though they were off-hand, and 
devoid of any special claim to literary excellence, 
they nevertheless reveal in all their naturalness 
and beauty, the sentiments of a soul purged of 
every worldly attachment, in which every afl'ec- 
tion is transformed by the love of God poured 
forth in the heart by tlie grace of the Holy 
Ghost. They are replete with counsels of ^ 

heavenly wisdom, given with such effusive can- 
dor and warmth that one cannot help feeling 
that they come from a loving heart. He took 
the keenest interest in every event that occurred 
in his family, but from a higher standpoint than 



HIS AFFECTIOT^S SPIKITUALIZED. 73 

worldly considerations could inspire. His father 
lays before him certain plans regarding himself 
and his brothers: Gabriel writes at once: "I 
see no objection to your taking up your residence 
in Rome ; all-the-less since my three brothers 
may there exercise their profession under your 
eyes. But 3^ou ought to find out whether the 
air of Eome would agree with you ; although as 
far as the summer heat is concerned, you could 
find plenty of places in the neighborhood to 
which you might retire. You do not ask me 
anything about Vincent's state of life, nor do 
I dare obtrude my advice thereupon : only, I beg 
you not to place earthly interests on a par with 
those of his soul, for ' what doth it profit a man 
if he gain the whole world and lose his own 
soul ' : ' only one thing is necessary.' " 

His cousin, Peter Possenti, is laboring under a 
sev^ere affliction : Gabriel hastens to comfort him 
in his bereavement. " I am very sorry," he 
writes, '' to hear from my father (whose grief is 
as great as mine) of the death of your good wife 
and her newborn daughter. Faith teaches us to 
submit to the will of God, who permits all things 
for our good. Doubtless the shock must have 
been painful, but what shall we do ? Shall we 
allow these distressing events to pass by without 
deriving wholesome spiritual profit ? Oh, no ! 
Though we cannot help feeling the blow, let us 
not be overcome by our sorrow. Let us turn to 



74 THE LIFE OF VEIN". GABRIEL. 

the Lord, and offer up our sacrifice with courage. 
I will not fail to pray for the repose of her soul, 
although I trust that she has already received 
the reward of her many virtues." True Chris- 
tian charity weeps with them that mourn ; but it 
rejoices, too, with them that are in joy. Gabriel's 
father retires from public life ; his son congrat- 
ulates him thereupon in the following terms : " I 
give thanks to the Lord for sparing you to cele- 
brate your jubilee. You have no intrigues now 
to fear any more, and will have more leisure to 
turn your attention to the principal end of man's 
existence here upon earth ; for, after the short 
labor of a few days, we expect from an almighty 
and generous Master, peace and eternal jubilee. 
May our Blessed Mother be your special advo- 
cate, and thank our God in the name of us all 
for all the favors granted to you." 

In every letter that he wrote, he humbly asks 
his friends and family for their prayers, and as- 
sures them of his own. Blessed the family that 
has a representative before the throne of grace ! 
The annual recurrence of the great church festi- 
vals always gave him an opportunity to pour out 
the feelings of his heart. This is one of his 
Easter greetings : " My sincere love for you, 
my dearest father, prompts me to fulfil my duty 
both as a Christian and as your child. May then 
Jesus and Mary themselves cause these paschal 
festivities to be a source of joy for you and all at 



HIS AFFECTIOIN^S SPIKITUALIZED. 75 

home, and all my relatives : and this wish of 
mine comes more from my heart than from my 
lips. God knows that I speak the truth." The 
feast of Pentecost inspires him with the follow- 
ing lines : " May the eternal and divine Spirit 
come down upon you and my brothers during 
these days, and bring you that spirit of truth, of 
consolation and of peace, which is a pledge of 
eternal salvation : and may our most loving 
Mother Mary, who is all kindness and compas- 
sion, repay you for the great care and solicitude 
you have always shown for our welfare and edu- 
cation." But it was at Christmas-tide especially 
that this loving son revealed the affections of his 
heart. " My dearest Father, . . . since we 
have already entered upon the advent season, I 
wish to anticipate my duty in wishing you, and 
my brothers, and all at home, the sweetest and 
holiest joys and blessings of the coming Christ- 
mas. Let us pray to the infant Jesus, who came 
down into a vile and cold stable, to deliver us 
from the eternal punishment which our sins de- 
served. Let us ask of Him to purify our hearts 
by a good, holy communion, and inflame them 
with His divine love." 

" The recurrence of Christmas," he writes the 
following year, " invites all the faithful to wish 
one another those blessings of which our Saviour 
is both the author and dispenser. Now if such 
be the custom between neighbors and friends. 



76 THE LIFE OF VET^. GABRIEL. 

what should be the sentiments of a loving son to 
his affectionate father? I will not expatiate in 
vain compliments, but I sincerely pray that my 
desires for yourself and all at home be heard by 
the divine Infant and His amiable Mother." 
Again, the following year : " The season of 
peace, mercy and grace is drawing near, and I 
feel it my dut}^ to wish from my inmost heart, to 
you and all at home, a season full of God's bless- 
ings, a season of true gladness that will long live 
in your memories. Yes, dearest father, brothers 
and all, may Jesus be born in your hearts ; may 
Mary always guard Him there ; may Joseph, the 
holy angels and the childlike shepherds keep 
Him company and intercede for us. What more 
can I wish for you, than that this holy family 
take you under their protection ? " 

The worldling may perhaps smile at such 
epistolary expressions ; but " My thoughts are not 
your thoughts, nor your ways My waj^s," saith 
the Lord. In vain will one look in Gabriel's 
letters for anything newsy, or interesting from a 
mere secular point of view : he was dead to all 
mundane concerns, but the affections of his heart 
in being thus purified from earthly dross, became 
all the more ardent and lasting ; those who were 
dear to him appreciated and reciprocated his 
affection, and evidenced it by the eagerness with 
which they longed for his letters, and by the 
religious care with which they preserved them. 



HIS CLERICAL STUDIES. 77 



YIII. 
HIS CLERICAL STUDIES. 

When the year of his novitiate was ended, 
Gabriel pronounced his vows before the whole 
religious community. This happy event took 
place on Tuesday, September 22d, 1857. It is 
easier to experience than to describe the joy and 
consolation of one's religious profession : and 'Ho 
attempt to do anything like justice, in describing 
Confrater Gabriel's profession, would as F. 
Germanus writes, be quite impossible. A year 
before, at the foot of the same altar, during the 
ceremony of his vestition, he had not been able 
to contain his tears of consolation ; but now, 
during the ceremony of profession, he was well- 
nigh overcome by the vehemence of his affec- 
tions. His countenance was inflamed, and his 
whole appearance resembled that of an earthly 
seraph." The Sunday after his consecration, he 
wrote thus to his father : " Through the grace 
of God, and the protection of Our Lad}^ of 
Sorrows, and to my unspeakable joy, my desires 
have been fulfilled, and I have made my holy 
profession. Such a grace can never be valued 
adequately, and therefore as I have been favored 



78 THE LIFE OF VE]^. GABRIEL. 

by Almighty God with such a privilege, I feel 
bound by an ever-increasing obligation to cor- 
respond thereto. I leave it therefore to your 
own judgment, whether or no I stand in need of 
the prayers of yourself and others." 

Gabriel was destined to commence his pro- 
fessional clerical studies in the retreat of 
Pievetorina, but had to wait in the novitiate for 
the profession of some of his future companions. 
During these five months he and his two asso- 
ciates attended to their studies privately under 
the guidance of F. Norbert, his former Vice- 
Master who had been appointed the director and 
lector of the new class. Pievetorina is a lovely 
little town of the Marches, and one of the most 
important of the district of Camerino: it lies 
along the course of the river Chienti, in the 
midst of a plain surrounded on all sides by woods 
and hills. 

It has ever been customary in our congregation 
to scaHer the regular students among the retreats 
Avhich form our provinces, and the constant union 
of senior and junior religious in the common ob- 
servance, has proved of mutual assistance and 
edification, while the occasional change of 
scenery and surroundings, consequent upon their 
removal from one retreat to another, helps to 
maintain the young men in a healthy condition 
of body and mind. So it came to pass that after 
having spent nearly a year and a-half in Pieve- 



HIS CLERICAL STUDIES. 79 

torina, F. Norbert's class was transferred to an- 
other monastery, situated in the kingdom of 
Naples. The students lost nothing by the 
change, for the new retreat is surrounded by 
the loftiest mountains, and has the advantage of 
the healthiest and most bracing air. Tradition 
has it that the monastery now occupied by the 
sons of St. Paul of the Cross was founded by the 
seraphic Father St. Francis. He established here 
a family of his sons who, under the patronage of 
the Immaculate Virgin, served and praised God 
in these sacred precincts till the end of the last 
century, when the sectaries of the French 
revolution scattered all the religious orders of 
the kingdom of Naples. No place could have 
been desired more appropriate for a Passionist re- 
treat, being situated about two miles and a-half 
from the town. Here it was that Confrater 
Gabriel passed the last years of his short life, and 
though the greater number of the religious who 
had known him were dead, yet, when the 
processes for his canonization were introduced, 
by a special providence of God, the few who 
survived were of such a character, as to give 
peculiar weight to their testimony. By far the 
most important of these was F. Norbert of St. 
Mary, who though comparatively young in years, 
when he was first entrusted with Gabriel's direc- 
tion, showed himself fully worthy of the confi- 
dence placed in him by the higher superiors. In 



80 THE LIFE OF YEN. GABRIEL. 

his deposition he speaks as follows: ''I became 
acquainted with Gabriel on the day he entered 
the novitiate, and from that moment we never 
parted until death separated us. He constantly 
lived under my authority : before his profession I 
was his Vice-Master, afterward I became his 
lector and spiritual director. Only a few times 
during my absence did he confess to any other 
religious, and I do not think that he ever had a 
spiritual conference with anybody else. I have 
therefore been the eyewitness of his whole life, 
was entrusted with all the secrets of his heart, 
knew all that passed in his mind, was informed 
of all the dispositions and occupations of his 
beautiful soul: nothing was hidden from me." 
God so disposed that when the cause was intro- 
duced at Eome there still survived Gabriel, some 
of his former friends and companions, who could 
testify concerning every portion of his life in the 
Avorld as a secular, as well as every phase of his 
religious career, so " that in the mouth of two or 
three witnesses every word may stand." 

In the scholasticate, there begins for the young 
Passionist cleric the second period of his reli- 
gious life, which is a gradual and progressive prep- 
aration for the special ministry of his vocation. 
This preparation is necessarily of a twofold na- 
ture, that of the mind and heart : the former 
must be furnished with knowledge, the latter 
must be inured to the practice of solid virtue. 



HIS CLERICAL STUDIES. 81 

One's fitness and willingness for the religious 
state, has been tested and gauged in the novitiate, 
and he has been fairly started in his career as a 
Passionist. What the cleric now needs is less a 
master to teach him the simple theory of this 
spiritual science, than a director to guide his still 
uncertain steps in its difficult practice. Hand in 
hand with his growth in holiness is his advance 
in ecclesiastical learning under the leadership of 
his professor or lector, so that the future mis- 
sionary, "the man of God, as the apostle says 
(2 Tim. iii. 17), may be perfect, furnished unto 
every good work." It is not what he reads in a 
book, or hears in a lecture-room that will fit a 
priest for his sublime ministry, but what he as- 
similates by reflection and prayer. " If I had to 
make my theology over again," said Yen. Claude 
de la Colombiere, S. J., " I would give two hours 
to meditation for every hour of study. It is only 
by meditation we let truth sink into our mind, 
and become able to appreciate and use arguments 
that are really strong." 

Confrater Gabriel was well prepared by his 
college course at Spoleto to commence the studies 
proper to our congregation. This curriculum 
embraces literature, natural and exact science, 
profane and sacred history, and principally the 
study of philosophy and theology with canon law, 
the Holy Scriptures and sacred eloquence. Our 
young hero completed his philosophical course 



82 THE LIFE OF YEIS^. GABRIEL. 

at Pievetorina with great profit, as F. Germanus 
his biographer asserts, but lie turned far more 
naturally to the study of the sacred sciences as 
Isola. Herein he could fully satisfy his ardent 
desire to know God more intimately that he 
might love Him more ardently. His progress was 
as rapid as it was solid, a natural consequence of 
conscientious application joined to acknowledged 
talent, and a retentive memory. In our Gabriel 
there was no fear that the spirit of perfection 
would grow cold, for he assimilated his fund of 
knowledge in an atmosphere of prayer, recollec- 
tion and union with God, zeal for the regular 
observance, and the practice of interior as well 
as exterior mortification. 



THE STRUGGLE FOR PERFECTIOlSr. 83 



IX. 

THE STRUGGLE FOR PERFECTION. 

The most important obligation that a religious 
contracts toward God by his profession, is that 
of tending toward perfection ; hence the rule 
prescribes that before a novice is admitted to 
take the vows he shall be tried by strict inquiry 
whether he has a fixed purpose of using his ut- 
most efforts to acquire Christian perfection ac- 
cording to our rule and constitutions. This 
purpose then, has been made the condition of his 
profession, and it remains the duty of his whole 
after-life. Confrater Gabriel fully realized this 
obligation, and more than ever he resolved to be- 
come a saint, ever manifesting in deed that this 
was the continual occupation of his mind, as it 
was the most ardent desire of his heart. 

It must be clear, however, from all that has 
been said, during the few years he spent in the 
cloister, that our Gabriel had no opportunity to 
achieve anything externally grand or noteworthy : 
the tenor of his life floAved on in the groove of 
the common observance, and the extreme care 
with which he sought to hide the perfection of his 
holiness, makes it all the more diflBlcult to point 



84: THE LIFE OF VE:N^. GABRIEL. 

out anything in his conduct particularly worthy 
of general admiration. Were a young man living 
in the secular world to practice all that a reli- 
gious does, he would be the wonder of his friends, 
and be held up as an example of extraordinary^ 
virtue ; but not so in a community where all this 
is but the common standard. We must needs 
bear this in mind if we wish to form a correct 
estimate of Gabriel's perfection ; whilst at the 
same time, we must understand the nature of spir- 
itual perfection itself. Now, nothing is more 
carefully impressed upon the young religious, 
than that perfection does not essentially consist in 
any external observance, but rather in the union 
of the soul with God by means of His holy love. 
On this interior life of love, he is taught to con- 
centrate his attention and efforts, — all else is but 
a means. It is neither the work of one day nor 
the result of a single effort ; it is the occupation 
and business of a whole life, and is preeminently 
the work of the religiotts life. Father Norbert, 
the spiritual director of the servant of God thus 
testifies to Gabriel's progressive growth in holi- 
ness. " I was charged with his direction up to 
the day of his death, and can, and do testify that 
he never relented in his spiritual progress whether 
on account of aridity, weariness or temptation ; 
whether he had the consolation of sensible devo- 
tion or not. He ever acted with energy of soul, 
greatness and generosity of mind, never neglect- 



THE STRUGGLE FOR PERFECTION. 85 

ing himself advertently In anything, ever grow- 
ing in the perfection of his interior dispositions." 
" From the beginning of his religious life he set 
himself to practice with all his strength, the 
principle inculcated before all others in the 
novitiate, namely, of walking attentively in the 
presence of God." By this means, he gradually 
acquired such interior recollection, and such a 
state of spiritual disengagement, that nothing 
whatever, not even work or recreation, could 
ever distract him in the superior part of his soul. 
Without difficulty he adverted to every movement 
of his heart, every grace bestowed on him, every 
word that God spoke to his soul, or encourage- 
ment given his will, every sting of remorse, and 
every movement of his interior passions. The 
same diligence with which he performed all his 
exterior works, he also exercised in his interior 
acts, repressing and mortifying defective senti- 
ments and interior movements, in order to cor- 
respond with God's grace and inspirations ; and 
in all this he was exceedingly faithful. He 
grieved over his imperfections, he humbled him- 
self deeply on their account before God, he en- 
couraged himself, and resolved to do better in 
the future, gradually acquiring herein such a 
degree of virtue, that I could not have desired 
more. He accomplished all this with a strong 
will, with generosity and constancy, with alacrity 
of spirit, and as he used to say himself : " corde 



86 THE LIFE OF YE^\ GALI.IEL. 

magna et anhno volenti " ; with a great heart and 
a willing mind : avoiding anxiety and fretting 
on the one hand, as well as indolence on the 
other. Pie most carefully guarded himself 
against useless, and ev^en indifferent thoughts and 
conversations : he was always engaged with 
something appertaining either to his office, his 
studies, or things spiritual. So then what is ex- 
traordinary in Conf rater Gabriel's life is this: 
that whatever he did was done with interior dis- 
positions that w^ere altogether extraordinary : 
Avith an attention to, and a practice of, the in- 
terior life quite uncommon in its degree. This 
explains the high esteem in which he was held 
by those that knew him, and accounts for the 
mature sanctity attained to, by such a young 
servant of God." 

Yet, F. Norbert assures us in another part of 
his testimony, Conf rater Gabriel never showed 
any singularity in his exterior conduct ; in fact, 
he was decidedly opposed to anything of the 
kind: but the punctuality, diligence and good- 
ness of his life could not escape the notice of his 
brethren, who were in consequence greatly edi- 
fied. These assertions are borne out by the tes- 
timony of Gabriel's companions. "What was 
noticed in him as extraordinary," says F. Ber- 
nard, " was that from the day he put on the sa- 
cred livery of the Passion, he went on constantly 
advancing from virtue to virtue with giant steps. 



THE STRUGGLE FOR PERFECTION. 87 

in such a manner, tliat he soon surpassed all his 
companions in fervor of spirit, tending toward 
perfection." And F. Xavier deposed : '' I was 
never able to notice in him any wilful defect or 
imperfection, although I was the one out of all 
his classmates who had the most confidential re- 
lations with him." 

And this, dear reader, is the testimony result- 
ing from an intimate companionship of six 3^ ears, 
by night and by day, in sickness and in health, 
from the day our Gabriel entered the novitiate, 
until that of his death ! This is the testimony 
given under oath by priests whose judgment had 
been ripened by long experience, and who them- 
selves, became so remarkable for their virtue, 
that they were successively elected to the highest 
offices of the congregation. 

''Many a time," says his director, "have I at- 
tentively considered this young man's life, and 
in my own littleness have I asked myself, whether 
there was a single virtue belonging to his state, 
which did not shine forth in him, and whether it 
would have been possible to wish for anything 
more excellent in his practice of those virtues ; 
and I have been invariabl}^ obliged to answer in the 
negative. I afterward discovered that several of 
his fellow-students had asked themselves the 
same question, and reached the very same con- 
clusion as myself." Such Avas his " hunger and 
thirst for all virtues," such the assiduity with 



88 THE LIFE OF YEN. GABRIEL. 

which he labored for their acquisition, that he 
never lost an opportunity of practicing them ; 
rather, he purposely sought such opportunities, 
and knew how to find them everywhere, even in 
things the most indiiferent. Of a truth, it might 
be said that he lived on virtue, and existed for 
the sole purpose of practicing it. So evident 
was his growth in holiness, that it w^as visible 
from day to day ; but during the last year of his 
life, such was the abundance of graces imparted 
to him by his God, and such his correspondence, 
that he was to me an object of wonder and ad- 
miration. His virtue, while ever remaining spon- 
taneous and unaffected w^as enhanced during that 
last year by a something of greater majesty and 
mastery impossible to describe, which awoke in 
me a sense of deep veneration. 

Before proceeding to consider in detail the vir- 
tues of this venerable servant of God, it will be 
well to prefix a few remarks on the nature and 
practice of virtue in general. 

Virtue is a habit or disposition of the soul 
which inclines us to do good and avoid evil. It 
is not a mere negative disposition ; for the ab- 
sence of a vice does not imply the presence of 
the contrary virtue; it is a positive disposition of 
the soul inclining to positive acts by which we 
do the good and avoid the evil. Again, virtue 
must be h((hitu((l^ for the disposition of the soul 
must ever be to i)ractice virtuous acts promptly 



THE STRUGGLE FOR PERFECTTOlSr. 89 

and easily, despite the revolt of our passions. 
We must also remember that there are two gen- 
eral classes of virtue ; one directly infused into 
the soul by God, the other acquired by repeated 
acts of our own will, with the concurrence of 
actual grace. 

The infused virtues are called theological be- 
cause they have God for their direct object ; the 
acquired virtues are called moral, inasmuch as 
they regulate our moral conduct. With the help 
of God's grace we can grow continually and in- 
definitely in the theological and moral virtues 
until the last moment of life. Now, only those 
who have distinguished themselves by practicing 
both classes of virtue in a heroic degree^ are can- 
didates for the sublime honors of canonization, 
for a saint is before and above all else, a hero of 
Christian virtue. This heroism is explained to 
mean a certain eminence and supreme degree of 
holiness to which man rises by God's grace, above 
the ordinary strength of others ; in short, heroic 
virtue may be thus defined : A habitual disposi- 
tion of the soul inclining us heroically to do 
good, and resist evil. Finally, in the official 
document of information laid before the Roman 
commission, we read as follows : " That Confrater 
Gabriel practiced all manner of virtues in a he- 
roic degree, is clear from the unanimous testi- 
mony of all the witnesses, so that he could be 
held up as an excellent model of the highest per- 



90 THE LIFE OF VEIST. GABRIEL. 

fection. All admired his promptitude and ease 

in the practice of virtue, and spoke of him as a 

saint. It was evident that he kept before his 

eyes and in his heart the examples of Christ and 

His saints, whom he ever strove to imitate with 

the greatest earnestness. He was ever ad vane- 

ing in holiness, no matter what the hindrance i 

might be ; like a valiant soldier (whose courage 

is tried on the field of battle) the harder the 

struggle, the more brightly did his perfection 

shine forth, so that all his acts of virtue might 

truly be called heroic. In this holy exercise he 

persevered until death, and no one Avas ever 

found to contest his claim to exalted virtue." 

This opinion has been shared by illustrious 
men, — cardinals, bishops, generals of religious 
orders — who having examined into his life, peti- 
tioned the Holy See for his beatification and 
canonization. 



TEMPERANCE AND MORTIFICATION. 91 



X. 

TEMPERANCE AND MORTIFICATION. 

The word teniiyerance is popularly identified 
with abstinence from intoxicating drinks, or at 
least with moderation in the use made of them. 
Now, although the habit of sobriety belongs to 
the cardinal virtue of temperance, it is only one 
of its practical applications. The proper office of 
this virtue is to keep a due restraint on all the 
passions of our animal nature. For him that 
seeks to follow Christ, the first step is to conquer 
self. '' If any man wishes to come after Me, let 
him deny hiniself." Such a one must resist the 
unruly affections of his heart, his love for the 
world and the things that are in it, the concu- 
piscences of the eyes and the flesh, and the pride 
of life. Now this is precisely the scope and the 
aim of the virtue of temperance. 

Though excess in eating and drinking be the 
least difficult of all our passions to overcome, 
self-control in these particulars is an indispensa- 
ble condition for one who wishes to lead a spir- 
itual life. St. Vincent de Paul used to say that 
mortification of the appetite was the ABC of 
perfection. ^' At table, let the brethren conduct 



92 THE LIFE OF YEN. GABRIEL. 

themselves with sobriety and temperance," saj^s 
our holy rule, " for the more freely one indulges 
his appetites, the more closely and painfully will 
he be tormented." " If thou give to thy soul her 
desires, she Avill make thee a joy to thy enemies." 
(Eccli. xviii. 31.) 

From the very beginning of his religious career, 
therefore, Gabriel set his face against this vice ; 
and among his resolutions we read : " I will never 
exceed in quantity. I will not eat with avidity, 
but rather with reserve and modesty, subjecting 
my appetite to reason." How faithful he was to 
this self-imposed rule, his director tells us : " The 
greatest difficulty I met with in regulating his 
exterior mortification, was to give him a fixed 
rule that would free him from all uncertaintv in 
the matter of food and drink. But God enabled 
me to guide him so that his health might not be 
impaired, that he might have the strength needed 
for the exercises of the religious observance, and 
the due prosecution of his studies. At first he 
was somewhat concerned from fear of excess, but 
gradually he freed himself from anxiety by the 
practice of obedience, and succeeded in maintain- 
ing that measure of temperance which avoids all 
extremes equally." Again we read in his resolu- 
tions : " I will not speak of what relates to food, 
and much less will I complain. I will not take 
food outside of the appointed time. I will be 
satisfied with what is set before me, without com- 



TEMPERANCE AND MORTIFICATION. 93 

plaining either in word or thought, mindful that 
I have vowed poverty, and that our Lord per- 
mits some things to test the sincerit}^ of my prom- 
ise." One of his companions having grumbled 
about the scantiness of his supper, Gabriel chided 
him gently, saying: " What's the use of complain- 
ing? I'm sure we had enough, after all." If 
what he ate was not to his liking, Gabriel took 
occasion to prar'lce a little mortification, remem- 
bering that our Divine Savior not only sometimes 
had no bread to break His fast, but during His 
agony on the cross. He had not even a drop of 
Avater to quench His thirst. If his food pleased 
him, he diverted his attention by listening more 
closely to the reading, or by making pious reflec- 
tions of his own. If he felt particularly inclined 
to gratify his appetite, he would mortify himself 
by waiting a little, and eating more slowly, thus 
seasoning everything with mortification, and 
sanctifying a merely animal occupation. He 
that seeks pleasure in the gratification of the 
senses, will neyerjind pleasure in spiritual things. 
Temperance is guarded and perfected by the 
practice of mortification, and without the habit- 
ual exercise of self-restraint even in things law- 
ful, no one can advance in spirituality. These 
" fruits of penance " may scandalize a sensual 
world, but they are dear to all who would follow 
in the footsteps of a scourged and crucified Mas- 
ter. "I chastise my bddy," says the apostle, 



94 THE LIFE OF VEN. GABRIEL. 

" and bring it into subjection." " Gabriel's love 
of self-denial was well shown (so reads the sum- 
mary of the Process) by the selection he made of 
the rigid institute in which he chose to sj3end his 
life. Yet how much more rigid would he not 
have made its rule (the same document continues) 
had not his superiors moderated his ardent desire 
to add every kind of mortification thereunto." 
It appears that the Master of Novices had been 
somewhat condescending in this respect, so that 
F. Norbert, after undertaking Gabriel's direction, 
met with some difficulty in keeping his fervent 
disciple within proper limits. " I constantly found 
in him," this Father writes, " agreat spirit of both 
interior and exterior mortification, as well as a 
habitual desire of practicing it. In regard to ex- 
terior mortification, he had such a strong inclina- 
tion for corporal austerities, that had I not 
watched over him and restrained him, his fervor 
would have prompted him to perform so many, 
and of such a nature, that in a short time he 
would have ruined his constitution. In fact, I 
found him immoderately inclined to such things 
in the beginning, and hard to be convinced on 
this special point. In order to obtain permission 
for certain mortifications w^hich I deemed inap- 
propriate, he would urge upon me all the reasons 
he could imagine, and that with such cleverness 
that frequently he would have gained his point 
had I not been extremely careful. When I spoke 



TEMPERANCE AND MORTIFICATION. 95 

to him of his delicate constitution, 'Why,' he 
would answer, 'if we are to pay attention to 
such things we'll never do anything at all;' or, 
again : ' All that is nothing for such a sinner as 
myself.' Many saints though poor in health and 
constitution, practiced far more. It was said of 
St. Alo3^sius that on his deathbed he would feel 
remorse for the rigorous penances he performed, 
yet he was not troubled at all ; " and then he 
Avould often add, " I guess the saints were singu- 
lar on this score." 

But as Gabriel advanced in virtue, he gradu- 
ally corrected this immoderate inclination, be- 
coming at last very docile to the least intima- 
tion of his director, saying : " In being obedient 
in this matter, there is a double gain : first on 
account of the mortification itself, and then 
by reason of the self-denial enjoined by obedi- 
ence." For a long time (to cite a single in- 
stance) he sought permission to wear a chain set 
wath sharp points. Though always refused, he 
would still beg for it with modest persistance. 
His director replied : " You want to wear the 
little chain ! I tell you that Avhat you really 
stand in need of is a chain on your will ; yes, 
that's what you need ! — Go away, don't speak to 
me about it. And he retired deeply mortified. 
Another time he was asking leave for the same 
thing, ' well, yes ! ' I said, ' Avear it by all means ; 
but you must wear it outside your habit, and in 



96 THE LIFE OF VEIST. GABRIEL. 

public, too, that all may see what a man of great 
mortification you are ! ' Though stung to the 
quick, he did as I told him, and wore it as I di- 
rected ; besides, to satisfy his thirst for penances 
by giving him more than he asked, I made fun 
of him before his companions ; but he, without 
ever replying, without showing the slightest im- 
patience, took everything in silence, nor would 
he even ask to be dispensed from thus becoming 
the laughing-stock of all." 

Unable to satisfy his craving for external pen- 
ances, because prevented by obedience, Gabriel 
found means to mortify himself interiorly in 
everything. Whether eating or drinking, stand- 
ing or kneeling, during recreation or repose, he 
found ways to contradict nature and self-love : 
yet, he acted with such dexterity and natural- 
ness that no one could perceive it, unless 
he were acquainted with the secrets of his 
soul. His eyes, ears, taste and feeling had 
each their own mortification. He w^as par- 
ticularly zealous in such practices during the 
triduums and novenas which preceded the great 
festivals. At such times, his preparations con- 
sisted not in the mere recital of a few extra 
prayers, but in a renewed application to overcome 
himself interiorly in everything. Before and 
after Holy Communion, as a remote preparation, 
and continued thanksgiving, he likewise re- 
doubled his acts of self-denial. He encouraged 



TEMPERANCE A^ND MORTIFICATION. 97 

himself in these practices by meditating on the 
suffering's of Jesus, the dolors of his compassion- 
ate Mother, and the great truths of faith, thus 
maintaining the fervor of his penitential spirit 
undiminished until the day of his death. The 
following maxims we find written in Gabriel's 
book of resolutions : " I will profit by every 
occasion of mortification that occurs, without 
seeking after them." " I will fulfil exactly my 
ordinary duties, mortifying self in whatever 
would prove an obstacle to perfect obedience." 
" I will mortify my eyes and my tongue ; I will 
not leave my cell without necessit}^ ; I will not 
inquire after anything through curiosity ; I will 
check my desire to talk ; and I will increase the 
number of such like acts every day." And 
again : " 1 will mortify myself in ordinary 
things, and in whatever I feel inclined to do, 
saying in my heart : O my God ! I will not do 
this thing through mere inclination, but because 
it is Thy will." 

To all these generous resolutions we Avill add 
but one more ; but though exceedingl}^ brief in 
words, it is the most comprehensive and most 
heroic of all : " I will strive to resist all my 
inclinations." 

Ho\vever great the care Gabriel took to con- 
ceal these acts of virtue from all except his di- 
rector, they could not escape the notice of the 
most observant and experienced among his com- 



98 THE LIFE OF VE1S-. GABRIEL. 

panions. One of them, F. Bernard (afterward 
general of the whole congregation) testifies as 
follows : " Considering the circumstances of 
Confrater Gabriel's life as a secular, to behold 
him now in religion, and even from the very be- 
ginning, so detached from all things, so humble, 
obedient, reserved and delicate of conscience, 
must necessarily impress one with the conviction 
that he set about the reformation of himself with 
a more than ordinary spirit of mortification : — 
all those who treated with him in daily and fa- 
miliar converse could not help but recognize this 
fact. He did not practice any extraordinary ex- 
ternal penances ; but this was not for lack of 
desire, but solely because such penances were 
prohibited by obedience, to which he submitted 
with the docility of a child. The fervent youth, 
however, knew well how to compensate for this 
loss ; for beside the exact observance of his rule, 
he was most attentive at every moment, and in 
every action, even the most indifferent, not only 
to sanctify the same by the most exalted inten- 
tions, but also to accompany them all with some 
self-imposed penance." 



CHASTITY. 99 



XL I 

CHASTITY. 

For a beginner there is no virtue that requires 
a greater struggle for its mastery, there is no 
virtue that gives a greater victory over self, than 
chastity : likewise, there is no virtue that makes 
a boy more manly, and therefore more noble. 
The reason of this is to be found in the fact that 
in the ardent years of youth, chastity can be 
acquired and maintained only by unceasing com- 
bat ; and even as the soldier becomes valiant by 
having to face danger, so the good Christian 
youth cannot but perfect his manliness by cour- 
ageously resisting sensual temptation. Habitual 
concessions to one's grosser passions lower the 
soul to a slavery, the ignominy of which is soon 
stamped on the very looks and whole demeanor 
of a profligate youth ; whereas chastity impresses 
upon the countenance a spiritual and manly 
beauty, to which even the infidel and the scoffer 
are forced to pay homage. 

Now, this most beautiful virtue which maketh 
earthh^ men like unto the angels of heaven, shone 
in a remarkable manner in Confrater Gabriel. 
Thanks to a special protection of the Immaculate 



100 THE LIFE OF VEN. GABRIEL. 

Virgin, he preserved unsullied the white garment 
of baptismal innocence amidst all the dangers of 
the world, but it was only in the sanctuary of the 
cloister, that this virtue was made perfect. " I 
find it impossible to express in words," writes 
his director, ''tlje love that Confrater Gabriel 
nourished for the angelic virtue, the jealousj" 
Avith which he watched over it, and the care he 
took to avoid all that might in the least tarnish 
its lustre. It would be necessary to have seen 
him and known him, to form an adequate idea 
of his virginal modesty." It may be said that 
from the time of his entrance into the religious 
state, he truly emulated the angelic St. Aloysius, 
to whom indeed, he has been compared by such 
eminent judges as Cardinals Parocchi, Richard, 
Goossens, Canossa, Manara, di Pietro, La Yaletta, 
Yaughan, de Ruggiero, and others ; but above 
all by our Holy Father, Leo XIIL 

It should be remembered that chastity is an 
acquired virtue, and that the effort required on 
Gabriel's part was proportioned to his ardent 
and affectionate temper. He was not then a 
stranger to the harassing temptations of youth ; 
his chastity was rather a glorious victory over 
the common foe. ''He was so diligent in driv- 
ing away every thought and temptation against 
decency," relates F. Norbert, " that during the 
Avhole time that I directed him, I do not remem- 
ber that even once he had any doubt or fear of 



CHASTITY. 101 

having failed in any manner whatsoever." But 
then, he used such circumspection in avoiding 
danger, that when reading or studying, if he fell 
upon anything suggestive of evil, he passed it 
over at once, however interesting it might ap- 
pear. He even said that he would never read 
the " History of Heresies," written by St. Al- 
phonsus, because their origin and progress are al- 
ways bound up with the spirit of impurity, some- 
times indeed scandalously and grossly so. Those 
familiar with the biographies of the reformation 
worthies will agree that he was not much mis- 
taken. 

It is not uncommon even with conscientious 
young people in the world, to gratify their cu- 
riosity as long as it does not prove to be directly 
sinful ; they take it to be their privilege to see 
and hear and enjoy everything that is not posi- 
tively bad. That Gabriel, as a secular, labored 
under the same dangerous error, we have already 
seen from his fondness for theatres and balls, 
novels and other worldly vanities. But from 
the time of his conversion he fully understood 
that the concupiscence of the eyes must neces- 
sarily lead to the concupiscence of the flesh ; and 
that the freedom of the children of the world is 
incompatible Avith the purity of the children of 
God. 

Hence to preserve intact the angelic virtue, he 
began to practice the mortification of his senses, 



102 THE LIFE OF VEK. GABRIEL. 

and this to such a degree, that soon he became 
an object of admiration even to the most fer- 
vent ; everything seeniing to him as if it did not 
exist, so completely did he stifle all his natural 
inclinations. One of the first habits to which 
novices are accustomed is custody of their ej^es. 
"Let the brethren," says the rule, "keep a dili- 
gent guard over their senses, but especially re- 
strain their ej^es." The moral axiom that " un- 
restrained freedom in gazing about is incompati- 
ble with purity of heart," was knoAvn even to 
the pagans of old. Hence our Gabriel from his 
very first days in the novitiate, before he re- 
ceived the religious habit, made a covenant \\ ith 
his eyes which he scrupulously observed to his 
death. If perchance he met a person of the 
other sex, he would either turn his eyes in some 
other direction, or else fix them upon the little 
crucifix or the image of Our Lady of Dolors, 
which we have on our beads. But he did this 
with such a total absence of constraint or affec- 
tation that he seemed to act as naturally in this 
as in all else. This reserve was particularly 
striking when on rare occasions the students 
happened to enter the house of some benefactor. 
No doubt such circumspection will appear exag- 
gerated to those of a worldly spirit ; j^et this 
was the common practice of the saints of God : — 
either then, their austerity or oitr carelessness 
must surely be at fault. 



CHASTITY. 103 

With the avenues of his senses so jealously 
guarded, it became easy for him to control his 
imagination. Nor was he satisfied with this : 
knowing that our mind is ever active, he took 
care to be always provided with holy thoughts, 
promptly banishing whatever was merely indif- 
ferent or simply useless. With all watchfulness 
he kept his heart since life issues forth from it. 
He guarded himself from any affection that was 
not evidently holy, and herein he was truly sin- 
gular. He thus wrote in his book of resolutions : 
" I will be reserved toward those to whom I feel 
most inclined, prudently avoiding their presence 
and conversation." His whole conduct was a re- 
flection of the rule left by St. Paul of the Cross 
to his sons : " Let the brethren be humble, let 
them resist their passions, mortify the flesh, ap- 
ply diligently to prayer, in all things act with 
circumspection, attribute nothing to their own 
strength, place all their confidence in God, and 
work out their salvation with fear and trem- 
bling. Let them entertain a pious and ardent de- 
votion toward the Immaculate Virgin Mother of 
God, strive to imitate her sublime virtues, and 
to merit her seasonable protection amid so many 
dangers." 

Our Gabriel was habitually so modest in his 
exterior that he did not even know the religious 
with whom he lived, save by their voice or gait ; 
and on the other hand, none of his companions 



104 THE LIFE OF YEN. GABRIEL. 

could tell with certainty the color of his eyes. 
He always walked in a most modest manner 
with downcast eyes, according to the advice of 
St. Benedict, St. Ignatius, as well as our holy 
Founder, but in all this his demeanor was so 
natural that it did not obtrude itself upon the 
notice of others as a singularity, whilst his very 
presence breathed forth the angelical purity of 
his soul. The mere sight of him moved all to 
piety and devotion ; and it often happened that 
when persons met him out walking in the midst 
of his companions, they were seen to stop on the 
road and gaze upon him with compunction, and 
then follow him with their eyes after he had 
passed on. Seminarians who came to the retreat 
to make the spiritual exercises before their ordi- 
nation, could hardly keep their eyes off liim 
whenever he chanced to come near them ; " and," 
continues his director, "• I could notice that Con- 
frater Gabriel's modesty had a singular influence 
in moving them to fervor. Quite a number of 
them would not leave till I had allowed them 
the privilege of a conversation with him. They 
left his presence filled with fervor and compunc- 
tion, and for a long time they retained the salu- 
tary impression made upon them." 

This singular reserve and delicacy of the serv- 
ant of God is not to be confounded with morbid 
prudery, a thing utterly estranged from virtue. 
Gabriel's sensitiveness was rather a divine instinct 



CHASTITY. 105 

which made him feel no longer at home in flesh 
and blood, as long as the}^ were subject to origi- 
nal corruption. " Unhappy man that I am," cried 
out the apostle, " who will deliver me from the 
body of this death ? " " His spirit indeed groan- 
eth being burdened, until his earthly house of 
liabitation should be dissolved." (2 Cor. v.) Ab- 
stracting, however, from extraordinary grace, let 
us remember that certain phases of exterior mod- 
esty are largely matters of temperament and 
natural education, and hence the saints are some- 
times less to be imitated than admired. Their 
extreme delicacy must be attributed to a state, 
of which the sensual world has no clear idea, 
and utterly no sympathy. In grosser beings the 
flesh seems to become too heavy for the spirit, 
and weighs it down to the earth and its pleas- 
ures ; but in more refined natures, the spirit 
seems to emancipate itself, and lift the body up 
to regions not yet quite congenial to its present 
condition, until ''that Avhich is mortal shall be 
swallowed up by life." 



106 THE LIFE OF VEN. GABRIEL. 



XII. 

HIS HUMILITY. 

To conquer the pride of life requires no less of 
a struggle than to overcome the concupiscence 
of the flesh, and it would be diflicult to say 
which of these two is the greater obstacle to a 
spiritual life ; were it not that experience, as well 
as the masters of asceticism, teach that pride is 
impurity's parent. " God resisteth the proud and 
giveth His grace to the humble." True humility 
is the safeguard, as well as the foundation of all 
the other virtues. Hence, there is no virtue in 
Avhich the young religious is more thoroughly 
grounded than this from the very beginning, and 
hence, too, our Gabriel, with the instinct of di- 
vine grace, strove to lay the solid foundations of 
sanctity in the depths of the profoundest hu- 
mility. He was so penetrated with its impor- 
tance, that frequently in conversation he would 
bring up some appropriate sentence from Scrip- 
ture, or a maxim of the saints, and particularly 
this one of our Holy Founder, that "one grain 
of pride will cause a mountain of sanctity to 
crumble." 

But Confrater Gabriel was a doer to the word, 



HIS HUMILITY. 107 

and not a hearer only, as his companions attest : 
what he preached, he first practiced. In his book 
of resolutions we read as follows : '' I will not 
utter a word that might in the least turn to my 
praise." And again : '' I will not take pleasure 
in any praise bestowed upon me ; on the con- 
trary, I will despise it, as bestowed upon one 
who does not deserve it." . . . ""'I will never 
excuse myself when I am corrected or blamed, 
nor even resent anything interiorly ; much less 
throw the blame upon others." . . . "I will 
never speak of the faults of others, even though 
public ; nor will I ever show want of esteem for 
them whether in their presence or behind their 
l)ack. I will speak of all with praise and es- 
teem." . . . ''I will not judge ill of any one ; 
I will, on the contrary, show the good opinion 
I have of them by covering up their faults." 
. . . " I will consider every one as my supe- 
rior, not merely in theory, but in practice, treat- 
ing all with humility and reverence." . . . 
" I Avill avail myself with patience and alacrity 
of every opportunity of humiliation that presents 
itself." ..." Every morning and evening I 
will practice some acts of humility, and endeavor 
gradually to increase their number." . . . The 
last tw^o resolutions clearly show that in this mat- 
ter Gabriel was aiming at perfection by the only 
efficacious w^ay known, namely a vigorous and 
constant exercise of virtue : for just as science is 



108 THE LIFE OF VEK. GABRIEL. 

not acquired without study, nor patience without 
suffering, so neither can humility be made per- 
fect without humiliations. In the religious life 
there are various practices conducive to this end. 
Taken from the canonical penances of old, they 
are debasing to man's pride, but they enable 
those who perform them in the proper spirit, to 
follow manfully in the footsteps of a Divine 
Master who humbled Himself even unto the death 
of the Cross. Penetrated with such sentiments 
our Gabriel composed the following prayer, the 
solidity of whose doctrine is rivalled by its unc- 
tion. 

'' Behold me at Thy feet, O Lord, begging for 
pity and for mercy ! What wilt Thou lose in 
granting me a great love for Thee, a profound 
humility, great purity of heart, mind and body ; 
fraternal charity, intense sorrow for having of- 
fended Thee, and the grace to offend Thee no 
more ? — What wilt Thou lose, O my God, by en- 
abling me to receive worthily Thy Son in Holy 
Communion ? — in assisting me to act through 
love of Thee in all my thoughts, works, penances 
and prayers ? — by granting me the grace of lov- 
ing Thy holy Mother most tenderly and trust- 
fully ; the grace of final perseverance in my vo- 
cation, and of dying a good and holy death ? 

" I am a beggar asking for alms, covered with 
sores and rags. O see my misery ! Here is my 
proud head, my cold heart, yes, my stony heart. 



HIS HUMILITY. 109 

Here is my mind filled with worldly thoughts, 
my will inclined only to evil, my body rebellious 
to every good work. 

" Help me, O my God ! . . . do help me 
to correct myself. This grace I ask through 
Thine own goodness, through Thine infinite 
mercy. To obtain it, I offer Thee the merits of 
Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord. I have no 
merits of my own, I am destitute; but, His 
wounds will be my plea ; Vtdnera tica inerita 
mea. Had I shed my blood for love of Thee, 
like Thy Son, wouldst Thou not grant me this 
favor ? How much more oughtest Thou to hear 
me now, since He shed His for me ? 

''Art Thou not He who hast promised in Thy 
Gospel that whatsoever I ask for the good of my 
soul Thou wilt grant : ' Ask and you shall re- 
ceive . . . ? ' Now% as Thou canst not with- 
draw Thy word, I beseech Thee to hear me. I 
beseech Thee through Thine infinite goodness ; 
through the heart of Thy Son wounded with 
love for me ; through the infinite charity of Th}^ 
eternal Spirit; through the love Thou bearest 
Thy most holy daughter Marj^ ; and for the 
honor of the whole heavenly court, into which I 
ask Thee one day to admit me. Amen." 

This prayer was written by the servant of 
God, shortly after his entrance into the cloister : 
it was the first flower of his fervor and exhales 
the fragrance of rare virtue. From his written 



110 THE LIFE OF VEN. GABRIEL. 

resolutions then, we can easilj^ see Gabriel's ideas 
concerning the excellence of humility ; let us 
now hear from those who knew him best, how 
he put tliose ideas into practice. 

Speaking of his holy disciple, F. Norbert de- 
poses in the processes: ''In the exercise and 
pursuit of holy humility, he foUoAved the same 
method he had adopted in acquiring all the other 
virtues ; that is, he directed his attention princi- 
pally to his interior, stripping his heart of its 
vices, and clothing it with the opposite virtues. 
He kept before his eyes his own nothingness and 
misery ; his former life in the world, his propen- 
sity to evil, his unfaithfulness to God, his weak- 
ness and helplessness. With all these motives he 
was intimately penetrated, especially during the 
time of meditation; and by this means he at- 
tained such a humble opinion of himself that he 
greatly feared and distrusted self, relying in 
all things solely on the assistance of God's holy 
grace. He often said : ' Of myself I can do 
nothing. ... Of myself I am capable only 
of sin, yes, even of the greatest crimes.' He 
spoke thus because he was intimately convinced 
of these truths in his heart : and I remember 
well that in all he did, he placed no reliance on 
his own powers, or efforts, or talents, even in 
matters of no great importance. However, this 
mean opinion of himself and his worth made 
him neither melancholy, nor slothful ; on the 



HIS HUMILITY. Ill 

contrary it filled him with courage to undertake 
whatever was pleasing to God, because he al- 
ways maintained a strong and filial confidence 
in his heart toward the Almighty. And truly 
his confidence was not misplaced, for in what- 
ever he undertook the Lord blessed him with 
success. Never, as far as I can remember, did a 
single word escape from his lips that might even 
indirectly have turned to his praise ; never did 
he refer to anything that would redound to his 
glory, whether with relation to his secular or his 
religious career ; Avhatever was known of him in 
this respect came not from him, but from others, 
since he studiously abstained from giving his 
brethren any information that might have in- 
creased their regard for him. His extreme mod- 
esty edified me greatly." 

F. Francis Xavier, the most critical of all his 
companions says of him : " Never was Confrater 
Gabriel known to refer to anything that might 
in the least turn to his glory ; of his distin- 
guished relations in secular life he never spoke." 

"He shunned as the very pest," F. Norbert 
continues, " any shadow of complacency and vain- 
glory about anything he had ever done or was 
doing ; being very cautious lest he might be de- 
ceived by self-love. For instance : Having one 
day made for himself one of those Signs or 
badges of the Passion worn by us on our habit 
and cloak, it turned out to be a beautiful piece 



112 THE LIFE OF YEN. GABRIEL. 

of work ; but Gabriel insisted that I should let 
him exchange it for the Sign of another reli- 
gious, lest his own should occasion some thought 
of vainglory, and I had to yield. Many of his 
companions, too, have left their written testimony 
that they never heard from him any expression 
of self-praise. He took delight in wearing 
clothes that had been used by others, or any- 
thing that was poor or ill-fitting. Everything in 
him was adorned w^ith modesty and humility. 
His constant self-abasement in word and deed 
was itself so hidden, so natural and spontaneous, 
that it did not bear the appearance of humilia- 
tion. He was an enemy to affectation and exag- 
geration in anything, but above all in matters of 
humility and humiliation. Nor was he less 
averse to anything like effusiveness in self-abase- 
ment ; he carefully concealed his very sentiments 
of humility, speaking as he felt with naturalness 
and simplicit)^, giving the matter no further 
thought." 

'^ Whenever he was subjected to some humili- 
ation or was derided, whether on set purpose or 
merely as a trial to his virtue, he would assimi- 
late it interiorly and relish his abjection to such a 
degree of contentment, that it would be hard to 
describe it properly." 

It was his custom neither to excuse nor to de- 
fend himself, but simply to suffer and be silent ; 
and if occasionally by mistake he was judged 



HIS HUMILITY. 113 

guilty of something that he did not do, he could 
hardly contain his satisfaction and joy. He 
looked upon all others as his superiors and con- 
sidered himself everybody's servant. When 
saying " culpa " in the refectory or in chapter/ 
when performing the usual penances or humbling 
himself before any one, it was easily seen that he 
really meant what he was saying or doing. Of- 
ten have I noticed how dexterously he sought to 
be the least of all, to take the lowest place, to be 
served last, and to choose the worst of every- 
thing. All this, however, he did so cleverly and 
so naturally, that unless one were used to his 
ways, and acquainted with his interior, he would 
never have suspected but that these things had 
so happened of themselves, yet they left every 
one unconsciously edified. Many a time have I 
noticed that when some particular attention was 
paid him, he felt so great a repugnance that he 
showed it externally : and on the other hand, he 
would often ask me to reprehend and humble 
him in public, and when I neglected to do so for 
want of reason, or because I could find no fitting 
occasion, he would come to me and gently com- 
plain. When I did happen to correct him, he 

^ By " culpa " we mean the public acknowledgment of one's 
faults against the rules. 

The *' chapter " is a convention of the religious community. It is 
called general^ if composed of representatives of the whole order : 
provincial if of the province, local if of the individual community. 



114 THE LIFE OF VEN. GABRIEL. 

would at once kneel down and remain in that 
posture until I told him to arise. If I left the 
room without telling him to stand up, he would 
humbly remain in tiiat position even for a con- 
siderable time, either till I returned, or sent a 
fellow-student with the needed permission. I of- 
ten reprimanded him for what I knew he did not 
do. At such times he never excused himself 
either to me or to his companions, either then or 
afterward : neither by word, look nor gesture did 
he show that he was not guilty of Avhat he was 
being blamed for. Even when I did not mean 
to reprimand but merely to warn him of some- 
thing, he would immediately kneel down with a 
respect and humility that faithfully bespoke his 
interior dispositions. The reprehension over, he 
would say on resuming his seat, " Well, I must 
correct myself. ... I richly deserved it. 
. . . Withal, his confidence in me Avas not in 
any way lessened, but rather increased." 

It was often noticed that he gladly occupied 
himself in the meanest domestic employments, 
" for in these," he used to say, " we gain more 
glory, than by doing other things." Of course, 
both the devil and his own passions fought hard 
against him, seeking to thwart him in these vir- 
tuous pursuits, but temptation would only make 
him the humbler, and would seem to encourage 
him the more, to acquire the very perfection of 
humility and to exercise it. 



HIS HUMILITY. 115 

" He was most faithful in manifesting to me 
the secrets of liis heart ; and the greater the dif- 
ficulty he felt, the more valiant!}^ would he con- 
quer self. At times, too, when there was no 
necessity of conferrino^ with me, he would never- 
theless come for the sole reason of overcoming 
the repugnance and difficulty he experienced. 
In all his temptations against humility, I do not 
remember that he ever once listened to the senti- 
ments suggested by the devil or his own passions. 
He had also this practice : when he perceived 
anything in himself, which if known to others 
would bring him humiliation and contempt, he 
Avould find means to call public attention to it : 
but if circumstances rendered this inadvisable 
through motives of prudence, he would make it 
known to me alone." On all such occasions he 
never lost his equanimity of soul, nor was he un- 
duly irritated against himself: he simply and 
peacefully entered thereby into a fuller knowl- 
edge of all his weakness, and a deeper contempt 
of himself. 



116 THE LIFE OF YEN; GA13KIEL, 



XIIL 
HIS MEEKI^ESS. 

After he has won the victory over the con- 
cupiscence of the eyes, and the concupiscence of 
the flesh, there remains to the soldier of Jesus 
Christ one more enemy to conquer, namely the 
pride of life. Now this vice is manifested in a 
twofold way : by vainglory in his understand- 
ing, and anger in his will: it must therefore be 
conquered by the virtues of humility and meek- 
ness. 

Man by pride aspired to be equal to God ; 
God by the Incarnation lowered Himself to the 
level of man, and then said : ''Learn of Me, be- 
cause I am meek and humble of heart, and you 
shall, find rest to your souls." " From the time I 
undertook the spiritual direction of Confrater 
Gabriel," says F. Norbert, " I examined the 
practices of mortification which he was wont to 
perform. I suppressed whatever seemed excess- 
ive, considering his constitution, as well as the 
austerities of the Passionist observance ; but at 
the same time, I gave him wide scope for such 
mortifications as could not overtax his bodily 
strength, and above all for the exercise of i^ite- 



HIS MEEKNESS. 117 

rior virtue. The latter I insisted on as the most 
important, and thereunto he applied himself with 
all the energy of his soul." 

This self-conquest naturally showed itself ex- 
ternally. " No man who had lived with him as 
a secular, and had become the daily witness of 
his religious life," says F. Bernard, '' would have 
taken him for the same person : all his vanity, 
levity, impatience, arrogance — in fine all tliose 
habits that Avere so noticeable in him before, van- 
ished on his entrance into religion, and there re- 
mained of his former personality only those 
beautiful traits which afterward blossomed into 
perfect virtue." F. Xavier, another of his fellow- 
students, speaks of Gabriel in the same strain, 
and then adds : " Never did he utter a word that 
might hurt any one's feelings ; never did he 
show that he had been wounded in his own. I 
well remember that frequently I took pleasure 
in trying his patience, but his only retort was a 
quiet smile." Yet the reader will recollect that 
from his very infancy our hero's predominant 
passion was that of anger, and how frequently 
in spite of his good resolutions he had to deplore 
many a sudden outburst of almost ungovernable 
feeling. In the cloister his victory was complete : 
passion would no sooner arise, but it was con- 
quered by a resolute will ; then would he hum- 
ble himself deeply for having had even that first 
spontaneous motion of anger, and thus in spite 



118 THE LIFE OF YEN. GABKIEL. 

of his sensitive temper, he became for all a model 
of patience and meekness, growing steadily in 
every degree of self-conquest as his life went on. 
His meekness thus was an acquired virtue, the 
fruit of an unceasing warfare that required the 
exercise of heroic virtue. Yet several of his 
companions who had lived with him for years, 
never noticed a sign of the internal struggle he 
had to undergo to conquer self ; they afterward 
declared that they always thought that Gabriel's 
facility in practicing self-control was merely the 
effect of his '' good nature " ! " It Avas by con- 
tinual recollection," as F. Norbert says, " that he 
contrived to keep a strict guard over his heart, 
and over self-love in particular. By the light 
that God gave him, he detected the uprising of 
every passion, (and this with a degree of clear- 
ness quite unusual even in interior souls) : and 
was extremely prompt in repressing and contra- 
dicting them." 

In his book of resolutions we read : " I will 
shut my heart against disquiet of any kind : 
against sadness and displeasure, and much more 
against anything like aversion or revenge. I 
will cultivate peace of heart, and therefore I will 
not give any sign of impatience either in word 
or action. 1 will suppress at once all sudden 
movements, and all affections that might ever so 
slightly cloud my mind." And knowing in the 
light of God, that envy of others and an over- 



HIS MEEKNESS. 119 

estimate of our own excellence are the causes of 
our anger, he lays the axe at the root of the evil 
when he writes in another of his resolutions : " I 
will rejoice in the good clone by others, and will 
account it a fault to feel any sentiment of envy ; 
neither will I allow myself to be interested in 
vain things." 



120 THE LIFE OF \EN, GABRIEL. 



XIV. 
HIS CHEERFULNESS. 

When a Christian by means of temperance 
has overcome his evil passions, he may then rea- 
sonably turn to the more consoling work of de- 
veloping all that good that is latent in him, by 
the cardinal virtue of justice. Now justice may 
be explained as being the rectitude of intention 
which seeks to know the right in order to do it. 
It is sometimes called " the sense of duty " : 
prompting us to give to God the things that are 
God's and to all men their due. 

Considering the many limitations of our double 
nature, we were evidently intended to live in so- 
ciety, therefore " hath God given every man 
commandment concerning his brother." Created 
in the image of a God of infinite goodness, we 
are so to act that Ave may ever prove ourselves 
to be worthy children of our heavenly Father 
" who maketh His sun to rise upon the good and 
bad, and raineth upon the just and the unjust." 
And what is that sunshine that we are to shed 
upon our neighbors, what the refreshing dew, 
but tliat spiritual cheerfulness of which the 
apostle wrote, saying : " Rejoice in the Lord al- 
ways ; again I say, rejoice " ? 



HIS CHEERFULNESS. 121 

Nature had given our Gabriel an abiding cheer- 
fulness of character, but divine grace perfected 
and transfigured it. " While still a secular," 
writes Bonaccia, " serenity ever shone on his 
brow : his glance, his smile, the accent of his 
voice, all revealed a heart in which joy was pre- 
dominant." In a religious, freed from all 
worldly cares and fears, we naturally expect to 
see a peaceful joy, which gilds and renders at- 
tractive both the state itself and those that are 
held to represent it. The children of St. Paul of 
the Cross are no exception in this respect. From 
the very beginning, a winning cheerfulness has 
been their characteristic : it offsets their austeri- 
ties, and rewards them for their faithfulness. 
Yet even in their midst, Gabriel's companions 
could not but wonder, and look with a holy envy 
at his ever peaceful countenance. For where is 
the man whose horizon is not sometimes ob- 
scured by a passing cloud ? — where is human na- 
ture to be found so tempered by Christian forti- 
tude and generosity, but that experiences mo- 
ments of depression? Nothing of the kind, 
however, was noticed in our hero : not even for 
a moment did any of his fellow-religious see him 
under the influence of either weariness or sad- 
ness. 

It could hardly be that this unalterable serenity 
of mind was a mere gift of nature which cost 
him nothing: he too had his temptations, mo- 



122 THE LIFE OF VEIST. GABRIEL. 

ments of interior depression, when all seems 
dark and useless, but he never allowed these 
feelings to overmaster him : his resolute will 
triumphed over his natural weakness, bearing 
him on in magnificent reaches toward the heights 
of manly holiness and religious perfection. 

If our Gabriel avoided the extreme of peevish- 
ness and sadness, likewise did he guard against 
the equally perilous extreme of boisterousness, 
that sure index of an inconstant and superficial 
character. F. Bernard speaking of his holj^ com- 
panion says : " He was the delight of his breth- 
ren. Whoever had to deal with him was struck 
with wonder at his unruffled disposition, joined 
as it was to the most amiable manners." " His 
presence," says his biographer, '' was like a ray 
of heavenly sunshine that fell upon the very soul 
of those whom he approached : it was as if a 
source of unearthly sweetness welled up from his 
heart and flowed out in streams of joy through 
his eyes and lips and whole demeanor." He was 
an enemy to all singularity : he had none of that 
moroseness, that sour and silent spirit of criti- 
cism, that chills the mirth of recreation and 
destroys fraternal charity : his manners were 
natural but refined, his conversation often tinged 
with contagious humor; and even the witty 
pleasantry and innocent joke, which hurts nobody 
and cheers the heart of man, were by no means 
foreign to him. 



HIS CHEERFULNESS. 123 

It would be very hard to describe faithfully 
his habitual mien : it was either a joyful modesty, 
or a religious joy fulness ; for as F. Bernard re- 
marks : " He never separated this cheerful amia- 
bility from the most reserved modesty of manner, 
lie was never guilty of word or gesture that 
savored of levity ; rather, everj^thing he did and 
said was accompanied with a certain reserve, 
which in turn was adorned with a nameless 
spiritual unction ; so that while his whole con- 
duct was composed and natural, and his conver- 
sation charming, both always proved greatly 
edifying and enticed to virtue. All this became 
more apparent at a time when naturally it might 
have been quite the reverse : that is during his 
last lingering illness. Even then his ingenuous 
heartiness was like a magnet that drew his 
brethren to his bed of sickness and kept them 
most willingly there. It was more than Chris- 
tian charit}^ and fraternal benevolence that made 
them anxious to wait on him : the real reason 
was that the sanctified pleasantness of the in- 
valid himself was like a bright sun, in whose 
light and heat they daily basked. His body, 
never very robust, was then attenuated by weak- 
ness, his face emaciated by sickness, yet the joy- 
fulness of his soul seemed only to increase, as 
his bodily strength declined. 

Confrater Gabriel was of medium height, his 
countenance graceful and composed, ever lit up 



124 THE LIFE OF YEN. GABRIEL. 

with a winning smile ; his eyes were large and 
deep, intelligent and bright, modestly lowered 
under well-arched brows ; his forehead was higli 
and broad, his hair dark, his face oval and S3nn- 
metrical. Such is the pen portrait given us by 
his friend and first biographer, Paul Bonaccia. 
^'His manners were very attractive," says F. 
Norbert, "his ways naturally refined, his speech 
was prompt and appropriate, never failing to 
engage and hold the attention." In a word, he 
united many beautiful qualities in an uncommon 
degree, and it was no wonder that he won the 
esteem and love of all, even aside from the virtue 
and sanctity with which all this natural perfec- 
tion was crowned. Whilst his appearance Avas 
attractive, his conversation forbade anything 
like familiarity ; while inspiring confidence, it 
commanded respect. He was an enemy to every 
degree of hypocrisy and falsehood, avoided all 
flattery and artifice, considerate yet candid and 
truthful. In public or in private he respected 
the good name and reputation of his neighbor ; 
affectionate to all, bearing with all, and excusing 
all, he never gave any occasion for complaint. 
To those who had recently entered the novitiate 
he showed particular kindness, making them feel 
that they were surrounded by true brethren in 
their new home. Whilst he judged himself the 
least of all the community, he was fearful lest he 
might be thought more of than others. So 



HIS CHEERFULNESS. 125 

sensitive was he upon this point, that at times he 
fancied he was treated Avith more consideration 
than his brethren, and dreaded that any one 
should thereby be deprived of wliat was his due. 
More will be said on this interesting and practical 
subject in a later chapter, when we speak of the 
supernatural charity which inspired and ennobled 
his cheerfulness and his considerateness. 

Note. The Portrait of the Venerable Gabriel. — Tlie picture 
given as the frontispiece of this book is made after a painting by 
the Italian artist, Professor Grandi, preserved in our retreat of the 
Scala Santa in Rome. The original painting is so well done, that 
artists declare it to be impossible to reproduce its expression 
exactly. There is no authentic portrait of the venerable servant 
of God in existence : Grandi's having been made from the de- 
scriptions of those who knew him best. F. Norbert says : ** Oh, 
how much more handsome was the dear servant of God ! " How- 
ever, this has become the popular representation of the holy youth ; 
and strange to say, in the various manifestations in which Gabriel 
has appeared to those who have invoked him, he has shown him- 
self so strikingly like his picture, that on seeing it, they declared 
'* that the young Passionist looked just like that ! " 



126 THE LIFE OF YEN. GABRIEL 



XV. 

HIS SPIRIT OF RELIGIOlSr. 

If justice requires that man fulfil his duties to 
himself and his neighbors, much more does it de- 
mand that he acknowledge and discharge his ob- 
ligations to God, his Creator and last end. The 
greatest act of this virtue is sacrifice, by which 
w^e offer something of our own, in acknowledg- 
ment of God's supreme dominion : and in the 
case of a member of a religious order, this su- 
preme act is done when he makes his "profes- 
sion," and pronounces his vows. By these vows 
a man sacrifices to God all that is his : his body, 
his possessions, his liberty : he makes of himself 
a holocaust so complete that there is nothing sub- 
stantial left. When this religious profession is 
oiRcially accepted in God's name by the Church, 
it separates us from the world to consecrate us 
irrevocably to the Lord : a consecration much 
more excellent than that of the sacred vessels of 
the altar, since it is the result of a deliberate and 
hearty choice. As soon then as a novice has 
caught the true spirit of his vocation, he looks 
forward to the day of his profession with an 
ever-increasing longing. How eagerly our Ga- 



HIS SPIRIT OF RELIGION. 127 

briel yearned for it we have alread}^ seen. He 
always referred to it as " the memorable 25th of 
September." He thoroughly understood the dig- 
nity of the new state of life upon which he had 
entered, and correspondingly great was his grati- 
tude to God for his vocation, and his resolute 
purpose to live up to it. The essential difference 
between the religious and the secular state is the 
consecration which a religious makes of his whole 
life to the service of God ; therefore, as long as 
he is guided by his rule, all his acts become acts 
of the virtue of religion; whereas for seculars, 
the only possible acts of this virtue are such as 
refer directly and immediately to the divine wor- 
ship. With all the fervor of his earnest soul, 
Gabriel undertook to become a perfect man by 
living up to the Passionist rule which he accepted 
on the day of his profession. His director testi- 
fies on this point as follows ; " Gabriel was truly 
a model to his companions, and even to his sen- 
iors, in his observance of rule.-' In fact, scarcely 
had he become a novice, than he showed himself 
as faithful as though he had spent many years in 
religion, and found in every act of the common 
observance, that relish which one finds onh^ in 
the most congenial occupation. For the holy 
rule, he entertained the highest regard, consider- 
ing it as the law by which he would one day be 
judged. He would read it only with uncovered 
head, and in taking up or putting doAvn the little 



128 THE LIFE OF VEN. GABKIEL. 

book, he would reverently kiss it. " I will keep 
every rule, even the least," he wrote among his 
other resolutions, and he was so faithful to this 
promise, that he could not have kept it better, 
says one of his companions : while another de- 
posed under oath that he never saw the servant 
of God breaking any rule, even inadvertently. 
" He was careful in keeping all the rules without 
exception," writes F. Norbert, " because he re- 
garded them all as rules, and because he had 
freely bound himself to keep them. Never did 
he transgress any of them knowingly ; nay, great 
Avould be his sorrow when sickness or some other 
unavoidable hindrance rendered some point of 
the rule impossible; and it was plainly visible 
how much he was affected by not being able to 
be with the community. More than once," con- 
tinues F. Norbert, " having dispensed him on the 
score of ill-health, he feared, lest I should have 
been moved by too much considerateness, and he 
actually had recourse to the higher superiors 
Avhenever they chanced to be available : but 
when they gave him to understand that they ap- 
proved of my dispensation, he made use of it 
with all simplicity. In his observance of the 
rules, he never took into account the discomfort 
that his fidelity would entail ; on the contrary, 
this was for him an additional reason for regu- 
larity, since it offered him the opportunity of 
practicing several virtues simultaneously. Had 



HIS SPIRIT OF RELIGION. 129 

his superiors allowed themselv^es to be influenced 
by the eagerness which he always displayed, to 
observe the rule at any cost, he would have in- 
sisted on keeping many points, from which moral 
impossibility would naturally have excused him. 
Besides, the fact that he was dispensed from any 
act of the common observance, did not seem to 
him a sufficient reason to extend the dispensation 
to other points, though the same reasons existed 
for both." " When I went to reside in the Ke- 
treat of Isola," writes Brother Sylvester, " Con- 
f rater Gabriel was already sick, though not 
obliged to keep to his bed, yet he regularly fol- 
lowed all the community exercises." Even dur- 
ing his last illness when he was greatly enfee- 
bled, he insisted on making the spiritual reading 
at the time appointed by the rule ; and when at 
last his strength failed, he begged one of his 
companions to read out loud for him. 

The due observance of religious silence is per- 
haps one of the most difficult of rules, and the 
one most easily broken. Experience teaches 
that the manner in which either the individual 
religious or the whole community stands in rela- 
tion to this point, fixes the degree of regularity 
for the rest of the observance. There are places 
and times determined by rule, in which " no one 
will be allowed to speak without necessity ; if 
necessity require it, it must be done in a low 
tone of voice." Such is the law which is sub- 



130 THE LIFE OF VEN. GABRIEL. 

stantially the same in all regular communities. 
Our Gabriel was never known to fail in this re- 
spect : " I will not break silence without real 
necessity," was one of his resolutions. In the 
dormitory and the choir, he was especially care- 
ful, for in these places, says the rule, silence shall 
always be kept. If he had to deliver a message 
to one of his companions who happened to be in 
one of these localities, Gabriel would beckon him^ 
aside to another place before saying a Avord. 
When there was some permission to be asked, or 
some difficulty to be submitted to his director on 
the eve of communion-day, in order to keep the 
strict silence that commences after night-prayers, 
he would foresee the necessity and provide for it, 
by going during the da}^ "Were he, however, 
prevented by circumstances from so doing, and 
was therefore obliged to delay till after the 
rosary, he would lay the matter before the su- 
perior in the fewest words, spoken in a low tone 
of voice, and then retire. Nor did he limit his 
exactness to the hour of strict silence: at all 
times he was careful on this point, nor would he 
out of recreation say anything, unless it were in 
some way necessary. For instance, in school he 
spoke only of what referred to his studies, ac- 
counting it a fault to bring up irrelevant matters 
at such a time and place. 

We have emphasized Gabriel's observance of 
silence to give the reader an idea of the careful- 



HIS SPIRIT OF RELIGIOlsr. 131 

ness with which he kept his rule : but what we 
say on this particular point, might be extended 
with equal truth to every other part of his re- 
ligious life. Even in the smallest detail of his 
rule he saw the will of God : therefore did he 
strive to conform thereunto in the most perfect 
manner. His very soul was in maintaining the 
observance ; he set about the performance of his 
every duty simply to honor and glorify his God, 
to prove his love for Him, to offer Him some 
reparation for the countless offences of men ; 
these and similar intentions, he constantly made 
use of to maintain his fervor, to show his thank- 
fulness for past graces and deserve new ones. 
AVhat more is needed to demonstrate the sanctity 
of this servant of God ? '' Give me a religious 
who observes his rule perfectly," said the illus- 
trious Benedict XIV., " and I would be willing 
to canonize him even during his lifetime." 

Let us consider the religious life of Gabriel 
more in detail. "I will not neglect an}^ of my 
spiritual exercises," he wrote in his little book, 
" I will give to each its allotted time, and if un- 
able to attend to it when I ought, I will supply 
for it afterward." But he was not satisfied with 
mere punctuality : he performed all his religious 
exercises, whether in community or in private, 
with a devotion that was apparent in his deep 
recollection, and livelv faith. It was easv to see 
that he realized God's holy presence, that he re- 



132 THE LIFE OF VEN. GABRIEL. 

memberecl that he was treating with the Divine 
Majesty : hence there was no distraction, no 
wandering of his mind, no carelessness in his 
manner or posture. As the ecclesiastical year un- 
folded the amazing mysteries of our faith to his 
view, he apprehended them as living realities, as 
though they were then actually happening. He 
prepared for all the festivals of holy Church 
with faith and love and joy: but to form any 
adequate idea of his disposition, F. Norbert as- 
sures us it would be necessary to have seen Ga- 
briel at such times, and be animated by a spirit 
of faith and union with God equal to his OAvn. 
His companions particularly remarked that he 
spent his last Christmas on earth in such extra- 
ordinary recollection, and was so penetrated with 
the greatness of the mystery, that he seemed 
wholly absorbed in God. 

Owing to our custom of chanting the whole 
divine office in choir, there is but little room for 
sino^ularitv of devotion, or even for individual 
notice at all, since the lines in which we stand 
before the lecterns (or reading desks) cut us off 
almost completely from each other's observation. 
Man}^ of our good lay brothers, however, having 
excellent opportunities of observing the conduct 
of the priests and students, have testified what 
they daily saw of the devotion of the young serv- 
ant of God. Brother Charles thus deposes: "I 
saw him always recollected in prayer, and his 



HIS SPIRIT OF RELIGIOlSr. 133 

demeanor itself was enough to inspire one with 
piety." " I can certify," w^rites Brother Sylvester, 
" that his whole manner during prayer showed 
the liveliness of his faith, the firmness of his 
hope, and the warmth of his personal love for 
God." He himself when speaking of the mid- 
night office of Matins and Lauds, often said : 
" When the world is buried in sleep, how beauti- 
ful is it not for us, to watch with the angels, and 
with them sing the praises of God." 

His devotion was no less striking when neces- 
sity or sickness obliged him to say the office in 
private. He Avould insist on saying it standing, 
with his head uncovered : he ^vould have said it 
on his knees, if obedience permitted. Moreover, 
he recited it with such attention and interior de- 
votion, that he spent therein the same amount of 
time as the community did in choir. And be it 
remarked, that all this is the more extraordinary, 
as our students are obliged to recite the canonical 
office only through rule, which does not bind 
under pain of sin. 

His devotion was likewise displayed in the 
manner in which he discharged his office as sac- 
ristan. It belonged to him to see that every- 
thing pertaining to the immediate worship of 
God was scrupulously clean and in its place. He 
was exceedingly diligent in maintaining the 
highest degree of cleanliness and order, both in 
the church and sacristv. The altar-breads, for 



134: THE LIFE OP YEN. GABRIEL. 

instance, had to be literally perfect : a defect 
which no one else would notice, was enough to 
make Gabriel discard them. "On this point," 
says F. Norbert, " I had to mortify him more 
than once, because he was really excessive in his 
requirements." It has never been the tradition 
of the congregation to make a pretext of ob- 
serving religious poverty at the expense of our 
Sacramental king, around whose tabernacle we 
are taught to offer of our best : before the real 
Presence, sham wax, sham flowers, and sha^ii 
gold are strangely out of place ; yet, even in a 
place where the holiest traditions are daily re- 
duced to practice, Gabriel distinguished himself 
by constant, supernatural and quite unusual de- 
votion. 



HIS KEGULARITY. 13; 



XVI. 
HIS REGULARITY. 

" A soldier's first duty is to obey his com- 
mander," said General Grant, on taking command 
of his troops ; " therefore I shall expect my orders 
to be obeyed as exactly as if we were on the 
fiekl of battle." And his obedient men followed 
the hero to victory. 

Now, every religious order is an army, the 
army of the Lord of Hosts. For the soldier in 
camp, every hour has its appointed duty : each 
move and action of the day is made known by 
the sound of the bugle ; even so, religious regu- 
larity is the counterpart of military discipline : 
every action of the observance is made known to 
the community by the sound of the bell, which 
thus becomes the call of duty. The regularity 
thus produced and maintained is the life-spirit of 
the religious body ; without it, all fervor would 
be but spasmodic, and relaxation would soon 
paralyze the usefulness of Christ's spiritual mi- 
litia. No wonder then, that to a religious who 
has the spirit of his state and the love of his 
institute, the observance grows dearer as he ad- 
vances in years, and he realizes the more his re- 
sponsibility of handing it over unimpaired to 



136 THE LIFE OF VEN. GABRIEL. 

a younger generation. Judged even by those 
who were the most exemplary religious in the 
v^arious communities in which he lived, our 
Gabriel was acknowledged as a faultless model. 
He submitted so heartily to all the prescriptions 
and signals of the regular observance, that they 
seemed to have become for him a second nature. 
He would immediately interrupt whatever he 
was engaged in, as soon as he heard the com- 
munity-bell, and would go at once where obedi- 
ence called him. At the public acts of the ob- 
servance, he was always the first. When it was 
his turn to ring the bell, the first stroke of the 
clock would find him at his post, rope in hand, 
ready to discharge his dut}^ 

Such indeed was his punctuality and exactness, 
that no one could rival him : hence whenever one 
was needed to look after some office or regulation 
that required particular fidelity, Gabriel was the 
one generally selected. " Under this head, I re- 
member," writes F. Norbert, " that when we be- 
longed to the community living at Isola, we used 
to go down to the lower choir in summer for 
mental prayer. Either through negligence, or 
the difficulty of hearing the clock at such a dis- 
tance, it often happened that the religious 
charged Avith the little bell, would fail to ring 
it : so F. liector ordered Conf rater Gabriel to 
attend to it ; from that time on, the signal was 
never once omitted." 



HIS REGULARITY. 137 

Little by little, his solicitude and punctuality 
with regard to the observance became such a 
habit, that even in time of sickness it would give 
him great concern; and frequently would he re- 
mind his attendants of the hour, lest perhaps the 
bell might not be rung in time. During his last 
illness, it was he who notified his companions, 
who were watching in his cell, that it was time 
to ring for matins (at midnight) ; and he kept up 
his solicitude, even after he was too wea\ to hear 
the striking of the community clock. Dear 
A^outh ! he never shrank from duty, nor did he 
throw upon another any burden that he could 
possibly take upon himself : yea, whenever the 
Rector gave any directions regarding the stu- 
dents, Gabriel would take it as addressed to him- 
self, and diligently perform whatever had been 
enjoined. 

The daily routine of the Passionist life is de- 
scribed as follows in one of Gabriel's letters to 
his brother Michael, who had asked for a detailed 
account. " In the evening, earlier or later ac- 
cording to the season, we go to rest, and after 
five hours' sleep we rise about midnight to 
chant in choir the office of matins, which 
takes ordinarily an hour, after which we apply 
to mental prayer for half an hour. We then 
go to bed again for three hours in winter, 
and two and a half in summer. Rising in the 
morning, we go to choir to chant prime and 



138 THE LIFE OF VEN. GABRIEL. 

tierce, followed by an hour of mental prayer, 
and the slightest little collation. Then for two 
hours and a half we apply to study ; then spirit- 
ual reading for a quarter of an hour, on the con- 
clusion of which, each one w^alks by himself 
through the grounds for half an hour : then to 
choir for sext and none, after which comes din- 
ner. Next follows the recreation for three-quar- 
ters of an hour, succeeded by a siesta. Then at 
the sound of the bell, we rise for vespers, and 
spiritual reading in common. After this, we 
apply again to study as in the morning, for some 
two hours or so, which being terminated, there 
is half an hour's walk. On Thursdays and all 
festivals, there is no study in the afternoon, but 
recreation all the time after vespers. The walk 
ended, we chant complin, have an hour of mental 
prayer, and then go to supper. When supper 
(or collation, three days a Aveek) is ended, we 
have three-quarters of an hour for recreation, 
followed by the rosary and night-prayers. Thus, 
with joy, SAviftness and good- will the day comes 
to an end." 

" O ! how pleasant it is,^' said Gabriel, on an- 
other occasion, " to lay one's self down to rest, 
with the consciousness of having served God 
(however unworthily) during the whole day ! " 

" Let the brethren," says the rule, " study to 
spend piously the time that remains from the com- 
mon exercises or particular offices of charity to- 



HIS REGULARITY. 139 

ward their neighbor. Let them love silence, and 
fly idleness." Confrater Gabriel understood prac- 
tically the importance and extent of this prin- 
ciple : he lost no time. " He was always busy 
either in his spiritual exercises, or his studies, or 
in the offices confided to his care : whenever a 
chance spare moment happened, he employed it 
in vocal prayer, or interior communion with 
God." (Process, Sect. 80.) Even during his rec- 
reation he was always engaged in some of those 
light manual occupations, common enough in so 
many fervent religious communities. " Shun 
idleness," Gabriel wrote to his brother who had 
been ordained priest, " shun idleness, apply to 
study, labor for God ; because this is not the 
time for rest but for work, above all for a priest." 
We may best conclude this chapter with one of 
Gabriel's resolutions, one that gives us the key 
to all his regularity. " I will be punctual. I 
will obey the sound of the bell as if it were the 
very voice of God." Thus did he interpret the 
saying of the Master : " Blessed are they Avho 
hear the word of God, and keep it." 



140 THE LIFE OF VEN. GABRIEL 



XYII. 
HIS SPIRITUAL COURAGE. 

"Man's life upon earth is a warfare," says holy 
Job, and the victory cannot be won, but by a 
fierce and constant struggle. Upon every good 
Christian therefore devolves the obligation of 
" fighting the good fight " as a soldier of Christ, 
and displaying and exercising the warrior's chief- 
est virtue, true moral courage, or fortitude. 

After our young hero had resolved to walk in 
the footsteps of a crucified Redeemer, how many 
struggles must he not have had to sustain, during 
all the remaining years of his life ! yet, never for 
a moment did his courage falter or his resolution 
waver : with rare magnanimity he persevered in 
the practice of every virtue becoming to the re- 
ligious state, up to his last breath. True, this 
magnanimity is to a certain degree common to 
all religious, inasmuch as it is implied in the re- 
ligious state itself ; but it was intensified in our 
Gabriel by the fact that he ever sought to real- 
ize that immolation, not only in its substance, 
but constantly strove day by day, and hour by 
hour, to perfect its spirit in his own soul, by de- 
tachment from all creatures and closer union 



HIS SPIRITUAL COURAlU:. 141 

with God. Docile to grace, fearless and un- 
daunted, he withstood and conquered all ob- 
stacles from within as well as from without : 
ever advancing, never pausing for rest on the 
road he had entered, 

" For any one who has himself set out on the 
road of spiritual perfection, it will not be difficult 
to understand fiom his own experience what ob- 
stacles the se: ant of God had to encounter, so 
as to maintain that high degree of fervor of life 
which he displayed even in the novitiate; what 
violence he had to do to self, what victories to 
gain over indolent nature, (so inclined to lag in 
the exercise of virtue), what a manly fortitude 
and generosity in being faithful on all occasions, 
without ever growing tepid ! " Such are the 
reflections of his director, and he adds : " In this 
Conf rater Gabriel was endowed with an eminence 
of spiritual courage that was altogether extraor- 
dinary." 

We have among his papers some forty of his 
resolutions : these were written down by him 
from time to time, but nearly all shortly after 
his profession. Now these do not at first sight 
reveal anything extraordinary : both in substance 
and expression they appear very simple ; but what 
must be accounted as a very rare thing, and a 
proof of the highest virtue, is that he kept every 
one of them to perfection. Several of these res- 
olutions have already been quoted, the remainder 



142 THE LIFE OF VEX. GABRIEL. 

will be met later on. If the earnest reader de- 
sire to gauge the degree of virtue which their 
observance would imply, let them take up any 
one or two of them, and try to fulfil them per- 
fectly for a single day. He will soon realize the 
magnanimous constancy and the unusual courage 
needed in a lifelong fidelity to so many and such 
difficult promises, covering the whole ground of 
ascetical theology. By reason of this courageous 
obedience to grace, he acquired such facility in 
practicing virtue, that it seemed in him to be 
quite natural and almost spontaneous. Thus, 
for instance, to speak to his predominant passion 
of anger. The reader will remember Gabriel's 
sensitive and passionate nature : now, listen to 
Father JSTorbert : " During the whole time of his 
religious life, I noticed occasionally that anger 
seemed to boil in his soul, and would sometimes 
appear on his countenance, but I do not remember 
that he even once deliberatelv seconded its im- 
pulses ; rather, he was always extremely prompt 
and firm in keeping it down." 

Gabriel's interior struggles, however, were not 
limited to anger. " In order to remain faithful 
to God, he had to sustain with regard to every 
one of the virtues, many combats with the pow- 
ers of hell ; and the struggle was sometimes so 
obstinate and fierce," says his director, " that he 
would come to me all woe-begone for assistance. 
Yet not even once in all his religious life had he to 



HIS SPIRITUAL COURAGE. 143 

confess a defeat ; never did he even doubt of his 
having resisted with uniform courage and good- 
will." Frequently was he tormented with spirit- 
ual aridity, darkness, repugnance and various 
temptations, the latter being at times extremely 
strong and terrible ; still buoyed up by faith, 
with the sentiments of duty before his mind, he 
advanced along the difficult path of perfection 
without complaint or sadness or dejection of 
soul ; on the contrary, he ever maintained such 
a spirit of generosity and filial confidence to- 
ward God, that it seemed as if he did all his du- 
ties through natural inclination, accompanied 
with sensible fervor and spiritual sweetness. 

In all his sicknesses and suffering too, he dis- 
played his courage ; and though one can offer 
but a passive resistance to them, for that very 
reason, there is perhaps no surer or sorer test of 
consummate fortitude, than the courageous en- 
durance of protracted physical pain, or unreason- 
able provocation on the part of others. Patience, 
indeed, hath a perfect work, as the apostle tells 
us ; and according to the wise man, the patient 
man is better than the valiant. Doubtless in a 
religious community, where all ought to vie with 
each other in kindness, there is but little oppor- 
tunity of practicing patience under persecution ; 
still, there are trials of various kinds allowed by 
God, to augment our merit and perfect our 
Christian fortitude. Superiors may seem unrea- 



144 THE LIFE OF VET^. GABKIEL. 

sonable and severe ; our work, out of all propor- 
tion to our time and strength and ability : add to 
this, the natural frictions arising from diversity 
of education and views, characters and disposi- 
tions; and maybe too, as in the case of our Ga- 
briel, we have now and then a companion who 
likes to contradict and annoy us, for the express 
purpose of testing our virtue. We have already 
seen with what cheerful patience the dear serv- 
ant of God would meet these little contradictions : 
—before his superiors he would humble himself, 
promising to be henceforth yet more careful to 
avoid faults, which as a matter of fact, he had 
never committed : — before his brethren, he would 
relax into a quiet smile, as if to say : " 'Tis all 
right, go ahead ! I know you don't mean it ! " 

But the beauty of Gabriel's fortitude shone 
more particularly in the heroic patience with 
which he bore the painful and lingering illness 
that brought him to his grave. Oppressed by 
weariness, greatly inconvenienced by remedies 
and attentions (that were supposed to give relief), 
and exhausted by the slow progress of a fatal 
disease, he yet, as all admit, never uttered a com- 
plaint or gave the least sign of annoyance. When 
questioned as to how he felt he would invariably 
reply : " Thanks be to our blessed Lord ! " " During 
his last sickness," writes his companion, F. Xavier, 
" he ever maintained himself in patience and in- 
terior peace : he was ready and willing to suffer 



HIS SPIRITUAL COURAGE. liS 

even more, and gladly availed himself of an op- 
portunity of speaking of the sufferings of Christ 
and His blessed Mother. He also gracefully sub- 
mitted to the orders of the attending physician 
and the direction of his superiors." '^ One day," 
says F. Norbert, '' I feared from certain contor- 
tions caused by pain, that there might be some 
impatience on Gabriel's part, so I drew near and 
reproved him with severity, reminding him of 
the duty of patience, so as not to give the least 
displeasure to God, or forfeit the merits that we 
may acquire by courageous resignation. After 
listening to me with his wonted submission, he 
said with indescribable confidence and sweetness : 
' Be not disturbed. Father, I assure you I am not 
at all impatient.' " 

Confrater Gabriel was not afraid of dying : on 
the contrary, he longed for it, and when his hour 
came, far from being disturbed at its approach, 
he felt such joy and eagerness to meet it, that it 
became necessary to restrain him. Once, when 
talking to his companions about his death, he 
asked, " Do you want me to tell you how I feel 
about it ? Well, I assure you that I am not 
chagrined at the thought of death ; rather, I am 
afraid lest in the pleasure I feel at the thought of 
dying, there may be some self-love." And Avas 
not the very life he led a continual exercise of 
heroic courage ? Not merely the religious life in 
itself, — with its essential restrictions and priva- 



146 THE LIFE OF VEN. r4ABRIEL. 

tions and lifelong obedience,- — but the religious 
life as he understood it, a life of complete de- 
tachment, of absolute self-renunciation ; a life 
which was a fair embodiment of the three degrees 
of fortitude : magnanimity, alacrity and perse- 
verance. 



HIS PRUDEKCE. 147 



XYIII. 

HIS PRUDEIS-CE. 

Temperaistce and justice, even when exercised 
with the greatest fortitude, would not be perfect 
unless moderated by prudence. Like warp and 
woof, the cardinal virtues are so interwoven, that 
the perfect possession of any one of them is 
impossible without having all the rest ; but it be- 
longs preeminently to prudence in particular, to 
combine the remaining cardinal virtues in their 
due proportion : it is the salt that preserves them 
intact, as well as the counterpoise that steadies 
them. If the exercise of- all the moral virtues 
constitutes the perfection of our nature, fortitude 
is the heart that gives them impulse, while pru- 
dence is the head that directs their action. 

In general, prudence is the quality by which 
man chooses the proper means to attain an end ; 
now, as our ultimate end is eternal blessedness 
Avith God, prudence teaches us so to dispose of 
our graces and free actions as to merit everlast- 
ing salvation. 

This virtue usuallv takes so lono: a time to 
ripen perfectly that it is regarded as properly be- 
longing to old age, of which it is the glory. The 
experience and reflection which it presupposes, 



148 THE LIFE OF VEK. GABRIEL. 

are hardly reconcilable with the ignorance and 
passions of the young : and it would be all the 
more extraordinary to find it cultivated, where 
the danger of its absence is scarcely apprehended. 
And yet we must fairly reckon Gabriel among 
the rare exceptions to the general rule, and even 
admit that he succeeded in practicing prudence 
in a heroic degree. 

AVe have seen with what consummate tact he 
won over those who might have thwarted his 
vocation, or at least delayed his entrance into the 
monastery, and how he contrived to enjoy his 
holy solitude unbroken despite their unwise im- 
portunities. These sterling qualities of practical 
judgment and supernatural common-sense (if we 
may use such a term) did not forsake him in the 
cloister. 

He did not share that rather general delusion 
of imagining that he would find everything per- 
fect in the religious state, and that everybody in 
the monastery would be exempt from all the 
miseries of human nature. Such people are often 
painfully affected by what they actually find in 
a religious community : they are scandalized, and 
are sometimes tempted to regret or to retrace the 
step they took in leaving the world. Alas ! they 
forget that perfection may be the aim^ though 
not the condition of every good religious, and 
that even saints had their foibles and shortcom- 
ings as long as they lived. 



HIS PRUDENCE. 149 

St. Bernard is reported to have said that if 
there was any monastery in which there was not 
a cranky religious, it would be the abbot's duty 
to send somewhere else to get one ; and that he 
Avould be worth purchasing at his weight in gold ; 
so great is the good resulting to a community from 
the presence of such a member, by reason of the 
virtues he gives occasion of exercising, both in 
himself and in others. The religious profession 
does not absorb the weaknesses of our human na- 
ture. All those living together in a religious 
house have more or less to suffer from each 
other ; and he alone has perfect peace who is de- 
termined to forget his rights^ and think only of 
his duties, " It is no small matter to live in a 
monastery, or in a congregation, and to converse 
therein without reproof. Here men are tried as 
gold in the furnace." (Imitation, Book I., Chap, 
xvii.) 

If there is a place on earth, where the Apostle's 
idea of concord is realized, it is in a well-regulated 
religious community. Here, differences never 
proceed from malice or hatred, but rather from 
occasional misunderstandings which do not, on 
either side, preclude the best of intentions. As 
a rule the main issue is not a question of charity, 
but of prudence, or discretion. Now, it is morally 
impossible on all occasions to be exempt from 
this failing : at times we can hardly avoid giving 
offence: for although the members of a com- 



150 THE LIFE OF YEN. GABKIEL. 

munity are brought together by a common 
purpose, and in the main, are honestly engaged 
in trying to become perfect, yet they ever remain 
different from each other in temperament and 
disposition, in age and in education, in talents 
and in sanctity. Yet, wonderful to relate of a 
youth, and one of such ardent passions as our 
hero, Gabriel was never known to have given 
occasion of complaint to any of his companions, 
nor to have caused the least displeasure in all his 
dealings with them. Personally he would put 
up with any treatment with unruffled and smil- 
ing countenance, dissimulating the offence, and 
as it were, brushing it off quietly. Such was his 
exquisite tact, his rare prudence, constantly dis- 
played in his daily relations to those in whose 
society he lived and died. Those who knew him 
longest and best, both saw and felt that prudence 
had become habitual with him : his whole con- 
duct was permeated with it ; he was never off his 
guard, never allowed his heart to be surprised by 
passion, was ever considerate and yielding, never 
precipitate either in his actions or in his words. 
His self-possession was particularly remarkable 
during the scholastic disputations customary 
among our students. It was a pleasure for his 
confreres to have Gabriel pitted against them in 
argument. Others there were as skilled as he in 
logical wrestling, but none could submit to defeat 
more gracefully, or show greater generosit}^ in 



HIS PRUDENCE. 151 

the first full flush of victory. If his opponent, 
overpowered by the force of fair argument, was 
reduced to silence, the humble youtli took no ad- 
vantage of his position, but would in a most 
winning way turn the discussion off to something 
else. If, in spite of argument and reason, his 
opponent would not yield, but continued to main- 
tain his opinion with provoking obstinacy, Ga- 
briel would insist no further, but gently broke 
the discussion off, rather than hurt the feelings of 
his adversary : prudence suggesting that victory 
was not to be sought for at the expense of charity. 
They only who have known by experience, the ex- 
hilaration and excitement of these intellectual 
tournaments can realize how easily one forgets 
himself even in his zeal for truth. " I will re- 
press my eagerness to speak," was a resolution 
which Gabriel not only wrote with his pen, but 
which he incorporated into his daily life, and 
which lielped much to his perfection in evangel- 
ical prudence. 

The cardinal virtue, however, does not w^holly 
consist in regulating our intercourse with our 
neighbor, it should also shine in the right order- 
ing of our own concerns : and in relation to our 
Gabriel, we must see how he applied its principles 
to the proper ordering of his health, his studies 
and his interior life, subordinating everything to 
his last end. 

No doubt a sensual world would charge him 



152 THE LIFE OF YEN. GABRIEL. 

with imprudence in embracing a mode of life ex- 
aggerated (they say) in its continual austerity : a 
contention apparently borne out by Gabriel's pre- 
mature death. But let all such reflect that it is 
not mortification, but precisely its absence in tlie 
world, that brings to an untimely grave thousands 
immolated on the altar of pleasure : whereas a 
severely regulated life is conducive to longevity, 
as the statistics of religious orders will abundantly 
show. 

Besides, our special mortifications are not left 
to the caprices of individual fervor, but are 
regulated by obedience, while even the common 
exercises prescribed by rule are tempered by the 
paternal charity of watchful superiors. "With- 
out the superior's permission (the rule says) let 
the brethren do nothing under the guidance of 
their private judgment Avithout the merit of 
obedience, to which they are specially bound ; 
and sometimes also with the loss of health, with 
no gain either to discipline or the religious com- 
munity." 

There was then no lack of prudence in Gabriel's 
manner of life, whether from misguided zeal or 
exaggerated fervor ; neither was he blameworthy 
on the score of undue application to his studies : 
for the immoderate vigils and absence of regular 
recreation, which destroy the constitution of the 
careless student, are impossible under a wise rule 
and the vigilance of conscientious superiors. 



HIS PRUDENCE. 153 

Health and vigor are precious gifts of God 
that cannot blamelessly be despised or trifled 
with : nor was our Gabriel faulty in this particu- 
lar ; for during his religious life he was not 
guilty of neglect, being always perfectly docile 
to the directions of those placed ov^er him. And 
yet after all, supposing our hero to have short- 
ened his days by his fervent life as a Passionist, 
what follows hence ? Is life worth living if it 
be not consumed in God's service ? "' Venerable 
old age is not that of long time, nor counted by 
the number of years," says the wise man ; " but 
the understanding of a man is grey hairs, and a 
spotless life is old age. . . . Being made per- 
fect in a short space, he fulfilled a long time ; for 
his soul pleased God ; therefore he hastened to 
bring him out of the midst of iniquities. The 
just that is dead condemneth the wicked that are 
living ; and youth soon ended, the long life of 
the unjust." (Wisd. iv. 8.) 

We now come to the subject of the literary 
studies, the purpose of which is clearly outlined 
in these words of our rule : that, " the young 
men may become fitter for the care of souls, and 
may labor with all their , strength in our Lord's 
vineyard " : they are often reminded that study 
is " the special obligation of their state." In a 
letter to his brother Henry, our Gabriel gives a 
fair idea of his own sentiments and conduct in 
this regard. " Apply to study, my dear brother, 



154 THE LIFE OE VEIST. GABRIEL. 

and believe me that one of the things which 
frighten me most in having to ascend (if so it 
please God) to the priesthood, is the thought of 
how much I should knoAv beforeliand. How- 
ever," he adds, " for the past four years, I have 
through God's grace applied to my studies a 
little less negligently than formerly, when I was 
at home with you." 

The truth is, that he applied himself with all 
the ardor of his soul to the mastery of the sci- 
ences, especially of philosophy and theology, in 
order to render himself capable of teaching and 
preaching to the people the truths of our holy 
faith, and convert to God the misguided souls of 
poor sinners. "" The servant of God must be 
ready for every good work," he used to repeat to 
himself and to his companions, in the words of 
the apostle (2 Tim. iii. 17), to which he would 
add : " No one can profitably labor in the Lord's 
vineyard unless he be well provided with holi- 
ness and knowledge." Often would he recall 
with lively feeling that practice inculcated by 
Yen. Yincent Strambi, that at their studies, the 
students should imagine themselves surrounded 
by multitudes of poor abandoned sinners eagerly 
craving for the blessing of instruction and spirit- 
ual encouragement. The fruit he derived from 
such considerations was evident from his con- 
stant and rapid progress in learning. Some of 
his companions might be accounted more tal- 



HIS PRUDENCE. 155 

ented than he, but he surpassed them all in dili- 
gence and application. In order to lose no part 
of the time set apart for study, he made it a 
rigorous law for himself never to leave his room. 
During the whole time of the lessons, he paid the 
closest attention to his teacher, and one could 
well notice from his deportment that however 
dry or abstract the matter might happen to be, 
it penetrated into his very soul. That this was 
really the case was clearly proven, when it hap- 
pened to be his turn to unfold the thesis previ- 
ously explained in school, and prepared by pri- 
vate studj^ ; for he would then accomplish his 
task with such force of argument, handling the 
whole subject so clearly, that all who heard him 
were convinced that he had fully assimilated it ; 
and all acknowledged, teacher and class alike, 
that it was a veritable pleasure to listen to him. 
Such was his prudent application, in view of his 
vocation to the ministry; and if God did not 
commission him to go and bring forth much 
fruit, neither good will nor earnest labor was 
lacking in his faithful servant, during all the 
years of studious preparation. Even when the 
goal of his ambition seemed at last to fade be- 
fore him on the distant horizon, and when his 
health was irreparably shattered, his diligence 
and attention at school could not fail to strike 
his companions. 

Finally, Gabriel showed his prudence in the 



156 THE LIFE OF VEK. GABRIEL. 

manner in which he availed himself of the ad- 
vantages of spiritual direction. He who does 
not feel the need of spiritual guidance has not 
yet entered upon the practice of a true interior 
life. Difficulties and perplexities occur in which 
we need counsel and encouragement, and these 
must come to us from one Avho is skilled in tlie 
ways of the spirit, and can apply this knowledge 
according to our individual necessities. Those 
who are wisest and most prudent in directing 
others, have not dared to trust their own lights 
to direct themselves. " Who is the man that can 
understand his own way ? " asks the Holy Ghost. 
(Prov. XX. 24.) He alone is secure, who acts 
under prudent counsel, and directs himself by 
obedience. " He who is his own master, is the 
disciple of a fool." (Prov. Ibid.) " Let the breth- 
ren," says our rule, "approach their director with 
confidence, as to a father, make known their 
wants, lay open the secrets of their hearts, tell 
him their anxieties of mind, the temptations of 
the devil and their troublesome thoughts ; hold- 
ing it for certain that as often as they piously do 
this, they will gain abundant fruits of virtue and 
seasonable helps from God, and will return not 
only consoled, but also full of peace and joy." 

Our dear Confrater is a living proof of the 
good results accruing to a soul that is faithful 
and prudent in its obedience to direction. " It 
was a consoling task to have the care of Gabriel's 



HIS PRUDENCE. 157 

interior conduct," wrote F. Norbert. " From his 
director he kept nothing concealed ; he com- 
mitted his whole soul into my hands : — the 
thoughts of his mind, his intentions and desires ; 
the affections of his heart and the movement of 
its passions ; his temptations, difficulties and re- 
pugnances ; — so that his whole conduct, whether 
interior or exterior, might receive the direction 
and blessing of obedience. And it was sufficient 
for me to say just once : * Conduct yourself in 
this or that manner ' : I was certain beforehand 
that he would do what I suggested, nor would 
there be any occasion for me to repeat my ad- 
vice. In the manifestation of his heart, he acted 
with a simplicity and candor truly worthy of 
imitation." 

The conferences, however, which he had with 
his director, were not unduly prolonged. The 
prudent young man would have his questions 
well prepared, and even written out on a slip of 
paper. The answer was received without dis- 
cussion or reply, for he went to seek direction, 
not to give it ; nor did he imitate the conduct of 
those who try to have their own ways and views 
approved, and then delude themselves into be- 
lieving that they are acting under obedience ! 

One of the signs of an evil inspiration, espe- 
cially when it is masked under the a])pearance of 
good, is that the tempter, ''the dumb devil," de- 
mands secrecy and silence fi'om his victim. Our 



158 THE LIFE OF VEIST. GABRIEL. 

Gabriel avoided all these snares by an humble 
manifestation of all that passed in his interior, 
and the greater the difficulty he felt> the more 
resolutely would he conquer self in this repug- 
nance. 

"When we consider the whole tenor of Ga- 
briel's life," concludes F. Norbert, " it clearly ap- 
pears that he possessed the virtue of prudence. 
He always knew, either by himself or by the 
advice of others, how to choose and practice the 
proper means to attain his ultimate end, to avoid 
the snares and temptations of his enemies, to 
exercise the virtues, to conquer his passions, and 
to correspond with God's exalted purposes in 
calling him to the religious state ; and he did all 
this with alacrity of spirit, sincerity of heart, 
simplicity and courage of will." 

But if we judge from the standpoint of the 
gospel, the supreme act of prudence in his ex- 
emplary life, that one which became the foun- 
tain-head of all others, and enveloped them all 
in its own light and fervor, is the fact that he 
became a religious. ''What shall I do that I 
may receive life everlasting? Keep the com- 
mandments. But he answering said to him : 
Master, all these I have observed from my youth : 
w^hat is yet wanting to me ? And Jesus looking 
on him loved him, and said to him : One thing 
is wanting unto thee : If thou wilt be perfect go, 
sell whatsoever thou hast, and give it to the poor, 



mS PRUDET^CE. 159 

and thou shalt have treasure in heaven : and 
come, follow me." (Mark x. 17; Matt. xix. 17.) 
This is the divinely appointed means for attain- 
ing evangelical perfection : and Gabriel's supreme 
prudence consisted in making it the rule of his 
life. In the prime of life, he saw both the vanity 
of worldly goods, and the excellence of those of 
eternity : he withdrew into the peace of a reli- 
gious house, embracing an austere life together 
with the evangelical counsels, in order to attain 
the more securely his ultimate end " — so says the 
Official Process. 



160 THE LIFE OF VEN. GABRIEL. 



XIX. 

HIS SPIRIT OF FAITH. 

The presence of grace in the soul is manifested 
by the practice of three supernatural virtues that 
spring from grace as from their seed, and are 
like it and with it, infused into the soul by God's 
goodness and mercy. These virtues are faith, 
hope and charity ; and they are called theolog- 
ical or divine because they come directly from 
God, and have Him for their immediate object. 
The first of these, and the source or foundation 
of the two others is faith, by which man believes 
all the truths of God's revelation. 

Baptized on the very day that he opened his 
eyes to the light of the world, brought up under 
the care of eminently Christian parents ; having 
been taught his first formal lessons in religion 
by the Brothers of the Christian schools (w^hose 
motto is the " Spirit of Faith "), our 3^oung hero 
was no doubt unusually privileged beyond the 
average Catholic child. This "spirit of faith" 
communicated to him by his earliest teachers, 
left upon his soul an influence that is traceable 
in the whole afterwork of his sanctification ; it 
afforded an anchor to his masters at the college 



HIS SPIRIT OF FAITH. 161 

to bring him safely through the perilous season 
of youth, when vanity and passion cloud the 
mind and heart with dangerous darkness ; so that 
when at last he found himself secure in the harbor 
of religion, it was clearly seen that an abiding 
spirit of faith became one of the most striking 
characteristics of his sanctity. It manifested it- 
self, as many witnesses tell us, in every circum- 
stance, but especially in his conversation. " He 
was so filled with it," says F. Xavier, " that he 
would be wonderfully inflamed whenever he was 
led to speak on religious matters." His joyous 
submission in believing the mysteries of revealed 
truth, was plainly noticeable on his countenance, 
and he had ever ready a collection of little max- 
ims that naturally and appropriately voiced his 
interior sentiments. 

And yet, we must likewise record that our 
Gabriel's faith was often severely tried by the 
devil. " Son," says the wise man, '' when thou 
comest to the service of God, stand in justice 
and in fear, and prepare thy soul for tempta- 
tion." (Eccli. ii. 1.) "Against faith," writes his 
director, ''Gabriel had fierce and protracted 
temptations to sustain, but he despised them all. 
They annoyed him usually at prayer. Whatever 
the mystery might be that he had selected for 
his meditation, he experienced the most violent 
suggestions against its truth. But the servant 
of God would not on this account abandon this 



162 THE LIFE OF VEIST. GABRIEL. 

holy exercise ; rather, he applied himself to it 
with greater attention of mind, and unswerving 
loyalty and energy of will. Without excitement 
or anxiety, he would simply take the shield of 
faith wherewith he repelled all the fiery darts of 
the evil one, turning thereby all the attempts of 
the devil to his greater confusion. Far from suf- 
fering from such assaults, Gabriel derived from 
them an increase of strength : they could only 
make him cry out all the more fervently in the 
words of the apostles : ' Lord, increase our faith.' " 
(Luke xvii. 5.) 

Our rule requires us to be men of faith. " In 
all things let the brethren consider God as pres- 
ent : thus we will pray continually, easily shun 
vice, and follow virtue." Now, so perfectly did 
Gabriel carry out this practice, that at all times, 
and in every place, his mind was filled with the 
thouo^ht of God : nothino;* could distract liim from 
it : it was his food, his life. So thoroughly had 
he familiarized himself with it, that his attention 
to the Divine Presence had become a second na- 
ture : whether walking on the public road, con- 
versing with his brethren, or occupied in study 
or recreation, he kept his mind ever raised to 
God, and from his countenance and demeanor it 
was evident that he was engaged in serious 
thought. 

Hence, too, that peace of mind which he main- 
tained under all circumstances, in spite of con- 



HIS SPIPvIT OF FAITH. 103 

traclictions, Avhether from within or without. '*' I 
will receiv^e," he wrote among his resolutions, 
" all things from the hand of God, as sent for 
my welfare. I will resign myself to everything 
that happens, be it great or small, by whomso- 
ever, or in what manner soever, it may come 
about. I will imagine Jesus Himself saying to 
me : ' It is I that wish it to happen thus,' and I 
will say to Him, ' Thy will be done ' ! " Faithful 
to these resolutions, Gabriel soon acquired the 
habit of seeing all things in God, understanding 
them to be willed or permitted for his own most 
holy purposes hy God, receiving them with all 
faith f?'07n God. Thus, too, was he led into that 
interior life by which he became so remarkable 
that he might have said with St. Paul, " I live, 
now not I, but Christ liveth in me " : " He 
dwelleth by faith in my heart." (Gal. ii. 20 ; 
Eph. iii. 17.) For, the more faith is inflamed in 
a soul, the more God assimilates it to Himself, 
and makes it work in a divine manner, ever per- 
fecting and increasing therein the strength of all 
the supernatural virtues. As his director writes: 
"In conclusion, we may say of this dear and es- 
timable vounof man, that he lived bv faith ; " this 
was especially true of his last years, and in par- 
ticular, the one preceding his death, when every 
one of his virtues received an increase and per- 
fection altogether extraordinary and quite no- 
ticeable to all. 



164 THE LIFE OF VE:N\ GABRIEL. 



XX. 

HIS LIVELY HOPE. 

When man realizes by divine faith that " eye 
hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it en- 
tered into human heart, what things God hath 
prepared for them that love Him," then he turns 
his thoughts and his longings away from the per- 
ishable things of earth, and centres them on 
those of heaven : this is Christian hope. Even 
as faith makes us judge of all things from the 
highest standpoint, so does hope raise us far 
above this earth by desire : as by faith we be- 
lieve in God as our first beginning, so now by 
hope we tend to Him as our last end. It is hope 
that comforts us in our trials, lifts us above our 
contradictions, excites us to greater efforts ; it 
becomes the soul of fortitude, it animates to 
magnanimity, to courage in the performance of 
duty, to patience in enduring, to constancy in 
persevering. 

Gabriel's confidence in God was unlimited and 
unshaken, it kept him always tranquil in mind : 
it made him almost actually certain of his future 
salvation ; for he seemed to have no more doubt 
of being everlastingly happy in the possession of 



HIS LIVELY HOPE. 165 

God, and endowed with eternal happiness, than 
he had of his mortal existence. His director tes- 
tifies that the virtue of hope in his saintly young 
charge was of so singular a character, as to seem 
to him inexplicable. That painful doubt that 
makes even saints tremble — '' shall I be saved ? " 
— did not frighten him in whose heart was an 
unshaken confidence of obtaining everlasting life : 
and when he was told that his course on earth 
Avas well-nigh over, although unexpected, death 
frightened him not. Eather we must say that 
he longed to die, by reason of his hope of being 
inseparably united to God, of being freed from 
the danger of offending Him, and of being for- 
ever in the society of His Queen, the dear Mother 
of God. This spirit of his hope and trust in God 
far exceeded that of an affectionate son for his 
earthlv father. His condition in life did not in- 
deed subject him to those extraordinary trials 
which we read of in the lives of so many of the 
saints; yet Gabriel was not exempt from the 
temptations so often used by the infernal enem}^, 
to destroy or at least to diminish so comforting 
a virtue in our soul. In this, however, the devil 
never succeeded : on the contrary, such tempta- 
tions defeated their own purpose ; for the holy 
young man not only resisted and conquered, but 
waxed stronger in hope, and perfected his filial 
confidence in God. There Avere, to be sure, sug- 
gestions that occasionally clouded his soul for a 



166 THE LIFE OF Yi:^. GABRIEL. 

season, and shook his heart with fear: — the re- 
membrance of the faults he committed before 
his entrance into religion, the knowledge he had 
of his personal un worthiness, the inscrutableness 
of God's judgments, the fear of failing in fidelity, 
and other reasons ; — yet like the frightened child 
that takes refuge in the bosom of his mother, and 
there finds security and assurance, so did Gabriel 
in those moments of fear, promptly fly to the 
loving heart of God, and sweetly nestled there. 
He did this with such fulness of love, such art- 
less confidence, such abandonment in God's mer- 
ciful goodness, that his interior peace was quickly 
restored ; and once the struggles were over, there 
remained not the least vestige of uncertainty or 
doubt. He frequently recalled to his mind those 
sentences of holy Scripture that speak of hope 
and trust in the Lord ; he reminded himself that 
hope is a strict command ; he reflected upon the 
infinite goodness of God, His loving heart, and 
the pleasure and honor we give Plim by cultivat- 
ing sentiments of confidence in Him. He was 
Avont to encourage himself to hope by saying : 
" If God has done so much for me as to give me 
His own Son, Avhat is there I ought not to hope 
for from Him." ''If Jesus Christ became man, 
and actually died on the cross for me, can I pos- 
sibly fear that He will not do the rest ? " ''Were 
our salvation in our own hands," he used also to 
say, " we would indeed have reason to fear ; but it 



HIS LIVELY HOPE. 16T 

is in God's hands, and in good hands : let us then 
trust in God : let us hope in Him." 

We can hardly conclude this chapter without 
remarking, that as Gabriel's heart was filled with 
supernatural hope, he had likewise a marvelous 
talent of instilling the same convictions into 
others. " If he happened to see a companion 
manifest anything akin to diffidence, or excessive 
fear, about the interests of his soul, or anytliing 
calculated to contract his spiritual growth, Ga- 
briel was at once fired with charity and zeal, in- 
spiring the faint-hearted with greater confidence 
and courage. And I can attest from personal 
observation," concludes his director, as well as 
from the testimony of his companions, " that the 
supernatural hope with which they were ani- 
mated in the divine service, was largely due to 
the words and example of their dear Confrater 
Gabriel. " 



168 THE LIFE OF VEN. GABRIEL, 



XXI. 

HIS ARDENT CHARITY. 

" By this, all men shall know that you are my 
disciples," says the Lord, " if you have love for 
one another ; " but to excel in this virtue is con- 
fessedly no easy task. Let the gentle reader con- 
sult his own heart, and compare its innermost 
promptings with the standard set up by St. Paul 
when he wrote : " Charity is patient, is kind ; 
charity envieth not, dealeth not perversely ; is 
not puffed up, is not ambitious, seeketh not its 
own, is not provoked to anger ; thinketh no evil, 
rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth with the 
truth ; beareth all things, endureth all things." 
(1 Cor. xiii. 4.) In order to assimilate perfectly 
this divine virtue, Gabriel labored continually 
with mind and heart, especially during the time 
of meditation, proposing to himself the most 
powerful motives for its perfect practice ; drew 
up rules for his own conduct, foresaw and pro- 
vided for contingencies, so as to be ready on 
every given occasion. We may here cull some of 
those resolutions for our edification and encour- 
agement. " I will not speak of the faults of 
others, even if everybody knows them already ; 



HIS ARDENT CHARITY. 169 

nor will I show any sign of disesteem for them, 
either in their presence or behind tiieir back. I 
will speak of every one with great regard." " I 
will try not to provoke anybody by using sharp 
Avords, nor will I speak in such a way as to make 
one feel bad." "I will shut my heart against 
anything like anger, displeasure or chagrin : 
much more against every movement of envy or 
revenge." "I will rejoice at others' success : any 
feeling of envy I will reckon a fault." "I will 
practice charity and kindness, especially in my 
actions, assisting, serving and pleasing my 
brethren. My answers must be meek, my words 
mild, my manners agreeable. I will shun alto- 
gether particular friendships, so as to offend no- 
body." 

Loving all with an equal affection, he yet de- 
lighted in the company of the lowly. He showed 
no preference for the society of those whose 
talents were most congenial to his own, but 
rather to those who Avere less endowed. He 
gracefully accommodated himself to their tastes, 
S3^mpathizing with their feelings and inclinations, 
for he " sought not the things that were his 
own," but " made himself all things to all : " — 
hence the good lay brothers felt themselves per- 
fectly at home with him. In the words of 
F. Germanus, " nature and grace combined in Ga- 
briel's heart to make of him one of those entirely 
lovable characters, which are only too rarely met 



170 THE LIFE OF YEN. GABRIEL. 

with here below." ''We all noticed in him a 
singular kindness and concern for his brethren," 
writes F. Francis Xavier. " If any one fell sick, 
Gabriel at once volunteered to wait upon him ; if 
he noticed any one in trouble, he showed his 
anxiety to comfort and console him. Further- 
more, Gabriel's tenderness for his neighbor had 
nothing sensuous or worldly about it : it pro- 
ceeded from principles purely spiritual, and man- 
ifested itself even in spite of natural aversion. If 
the superior had sometimes occasion to penance 
one of the religious," writes this same witness, 
" Gabriel would interest himself in favor of his 
brother, and give himself no rest until he ob- 
tained a dispensation for him : Avhen, however, 
the superior was unwilling to let the fault pass 
unpunished, Gabriel would offer to bear the 
penalty himself. This often happened, especially 
in the case of the younger members who had but 
recently entered the novitiate." 

Later on, too, all his companions acknowledged 
that Gabriel never denied or even put off any 
appeal for assistance ; as soon as the request was 
made, leaving his own work aside, he would at 
once charitably help his brother. More than this, 
he would try to foresee the necessities of his com- 
panions, and without waiting to be asked, he put 
himself at their service. He was faithful to the 
very letter as well as the spirit of the gospel ad- 
vice : " Give to him that asketh of thee, and from 



HIS ARDENT CIIAKITY. 171 

hiin that would borrow of thee, turn not away." 
(Matt. V. 43.) " Many a time," writes his di- 
rector, "in order to moderate his excessive desire 
to be serviceable, I sent him away with some 
mortifying retort. ' You are a regular busybody,' 
I might say ; ' it wouldn't hurt you to mind your 
own business.' Then Gabriel would feel hurt, not 
at being snubbed, but because a chance to help 
somebody was denied him." Of a truth, the rule 
of his life was not the uncharitable maxim of the 
world : "' Let everybody look out for himself ! " 

We have shown elsewhere, how from his very 
childhood the venerable servant of God was filled 
with a tender compassion for the poor of Christ: 
this ever remained one of his characteristic traits. 
" He rejoiced," says one of his first biographers, 
" that although the congregation of the Passion 
lives on the voluntary offerings of the faithful, 
we have always been liberal in giving to the 
poor." "Let the rector," says our rule, " be full 
of charity toward the poor and toward stran- 
gers." And again, "if, after the Avants of the 
houses and churches of our conOTCo^ation have 
been supplied, there be any surplus, let it be 
given to the poor." 

" I remember once that when we were s^oino: 
out for a walk," says one of Gabriel's fellow- 
students, " we found a poor man at the gate who 
was waiting for a piece of bread. Standing at 
the porter's side, he jokingly said to the brother : 



172 THE LIFE OF VEIS^. GABRIEL. 

' I want to see your generosity this time ; ' and 
as the slice looked rather small, Gabriel said 
with astonishment and pity : ' Poor man ! why, 
that bit is not enough to reach his stomach ! ' 
The duty of distributing alms usually devolved 
on this brother, and to urge him to be liberal 
Gabriel often said to him : ' When you want to 
give something, let it be something worth while : 
— and be sure to give it Avith a good heart ! ' 
Habitually he stinted himself at table in or- 
der that there might be wherewithal to assist 
the needy. He did not believe in leaving on his 
plate simply what he did not want himself ; but 
from the beginning of the meal, he deliberately 
set aside what was most palatable, and would 
justify the custom to his companions by saying, 
' The poor deserve the best morsels : why should 
we leave only the worst ? ' " " Sometimes," 
writes F. Norbert, " when we were resting on 
the road from our walk, if a beggar chanced to 
pass by, Gabriel would ask leave to speak to him. 
He profited by such occasions to teach the poor 
how to bear the burden of their misery : he 
would inculcate a filial devotion to the Madonna, 
he would remind them that the Son of God chose 
to be poor, and to submit to all the inconven- 
iences of poverty ; he urged them frequently to 
remember the passion and sufferings of Jesus 
Christ ; he spoke to them of the great reward 
prepared for the sanctified poor in heaven ; and 



HIS ARDENT CHARITY. 173 

thus, liaviiig comforted and encouraged them he 
dismissed those unfortunate beings, whose souls 
were perhaps more famished than their bodies. 
In his letters, too, he frequently pleaded the 
cause of the poor, asking his good father and the 
entire household, to be generous in their behalf. 
In these appeals we find the following senti- 
ments : ' Eest assured of this, my dearest father, 
that charity never impoverished any one : on 
the contrary, the blessing of the poor will call 
down upon you and the whole family, the bless- 
ing of heaven.' ' Jesus Christ has told us that 
whatever we do for the poor. He considers as 
done for Himself.' ' One of the greatest consola- 
tions at the hour of death will be to remember 
that you never sent the poor away from your 
door empty-handed.' 

" To sum up in a few words all that might be 
said on this subject, Gabriel's charity was uni- 
versal and inexhaustible, and was truly habitual. 
To the full extent of his power, by deeds, pray- 
ers and words, he strove to encourage the needy, 
comfort the afflicted and assist the poor. Affable 
and kind to the extreme, doing good to all, mak- 
ing himself useful to all, the servant of God 
showed a charity of such a character, that it may 
be held to have been heroic." Such are the con- 
cluding words of the compendium of the Official 
Process, in its chapter on Gabriel's charity for 
his neighbor. 



174 THE LIFE OF VEX. GABRIEL. 



XXII. 

HIS LOVE OF GOD. 

" Thou shalt love the Lord thj' God with thy 
whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with 
thy whole mind. This is the greatest and first 
commandment." The observance of this law 
constitutes our essential perfection : all else is 
but accidental. Temperance, justice, fortitude 
and prudence : yea, even faith, hope and charity 
for the neighbor have no supernatural merit save 
what they derive from the love of God. " He 
that loveth not abideth in death." 

But how can we ever succeed in describing the 
ardor of Gabriers heart in its love for God ? If 
he so tenderly cherished his neighbor for God's 
sake, how much more ardently did he not try to 
love God for his own sake ? . . . His heart 
was ever occupied with God, breaking out un- 
ceasingly in aspirations of love, now to Jesus in 
the Blessed Sacrament, now to the Blessed Vir- 
gin. During the domestic offices (sweeping and 
dusting the house), in his studies, conversations, 
walks, everywhere and at all times, his heart gave 
way to burning affections for Jesus and Mary : 
yea, they were the objects around Avhich his 
fancy played in dreams. 



HIS LOVE OF GOD. 175 

Of course, the enemy of the human race could 
not bear to see a soul so utterly rapt in God, and 
he strove to prevent the young student's con- 
tinual growth in holiness. '' There was espe- 
cially one time,'' says his director, " when the devil 
became so furious, and assailed him with such 
vehemence, that Gabriel suffered indescribable 
agony. He annoyed him with such abominable 
suggestions against God, he urged him to utter 
against the divine majesty such diabolical blas- 
phemies, that he felt the greatest repugnance in 
giving me even a hint of their nature, and was 
rendered almost breathless through horror, when 
speaking of his terrible struggle. The evil spirit 
however was signally defeated by our young 
hero : all his attacks only rendered Gabriel dearer 
to his God, whom in spite of all temptations, he 
loved daily more and more." 

To enkindle this sacred love in his heart, Ga- 
briel used to recall the many blessings and graces 
that God had bestowed upon him ; he contem- 
plated the divine goodness and mercy in his re- 
gard, he humbled himself, he urged his heart to 
an ever-increasing love, he encouraged himself to 
greater fidelity, no matter Avhat temptations or 
difficulties should be encountered. The whole 
world was for him a ladder by which he easily 
ascended to the Supreme Good, admiring His per- 
fections. His love for us, His more than motherly 
care for us. Everything that he saw, from the 



176 THE LIFE OF VEN. GABRIEL. 

Avild flowers of the field to the stars of heaven, 
were as so manv mirrors in which he beheld the 
manifold perfections of God. Nor was it only 
from external nature, but from any circumstance 
or event whatever, he would naturally draw 
some reflections that helped him to raise his 
mind to God, and to direct thither the hearts of 
his companions also. This exercise became so 
habitual and familiar to him, that all things made 
his thoughts and affections rise spontaneously 
heavenward. 

Such love could not long be concealed : " can a 
man hide fire in his bosom, and his garments not 
burn ? " From the very beginning of his life in 
the cloister, his companions remarked his extra- 
ordinary fervor. His prudent superiors coun- 
selled him to watch and check this tendency of 
making public the secret of his soul, and the 
obedient youth, whose docility kept pace with 
his fervor, succeeded in controlling the flame 
that burned in his heart. But at times, during 
mental prayer for instance, when he ceased to 
advert to the presence of others, he forgot him- 
self, and despite his good-will, could not help 
betraying his mighty affection by ardent sighs 
and aspirations. 

He continually spoke of God : for out of the 
abundance of his heart, what else could he speak 
of ? and " when he was once started on such a topic, 
his impetuosity was remarkable," says F. Xavier, 



HIS LOVE OF GOD. 177 

" It y/as necessary to restrain him ; and some- 
times our director would mortify him, calling 
him a ^ busybody,' and one who only wanted to 
monopolize the conversation, preventing every- 
body else from saying a word. Yet, the evident 
sincerity of his conversation never proved un- 
welcome to his hearers, their own fervor made 
them delight in all he said, and drew them as it 
were irresistibly on to follow him." 

It is no wonder that one who loved God so 
much, and with so absorbing an affection would 
desire to die. If he found it so delightful to 
commune with his God even here on earth, he 
was naturally filled Avith an ever-increasing de- 
sire of contemplating and possessing the Supreme 
Good without fear of separation. From the 
days of his novitiate, he Avas anxious to die : he 
used to entreat our Lord to that effect, with 
most fervent prayers ; and such was the ardor of 
his desire that his director began to fear lest he 
should be heard all too soon for the edification of 
the religious community that gloried in possess- 
ing such a young seraph. But though great was 
his desire to go to heaven, greater still was his 
submission to the will of God ; and often would 
he repeat with inimitable earnestness: "May 
the most holy, adorable and amiable w^ill of God 
be ever done, by all creatures." Steadily, how- 
ever, the interior fire of divine love became so 
ardent, that it was slowly consuming the weak 



178 THE LIFE OF YEN. GABRIEL. 

frame that was its earthly furnace, and when the 
supreme hour came at last, we may say with 
Cardinal Parocchi, that "it was the vehemence 
of divine love, rather than anj^ corporal sickness 
that snapped the frail bond that kept his soul 
here below, and permitted it to unite itself 
eternally to the one object of its affectionate 
longings. 

There Avas, however, one great compensation 
for his exile, one anticipation of future glory, 
one secure pledge of heaven : the Sacramental 
presence of Jesus Christ in his church, and as 
God's infinite love is concentrated in this wonder- 
ful sacrament, so all tiie love of Gabriel's life 
was centred in the tabernacle. He reckoned 
himself fortunate in being allowed to spend 
regularly between five or six hours daily before 
his King, chanting the office, or silently com- 
muning with Him in mental prayer : not only 
this, but being permitted to receive his Lord 
thrice a week, and on all feast-days ; being able 
to come and kneel in the Adorable Presence any 
hour. . . . What a life for one Avho loves 
God ! Even to the fervent community of which 
he was a member, Gabriel's devotion to the 
Blessed Sacrament was an object of admiration. 
" What I can remember and testify," writes his 
director, "is far less than was the reality." He 
was truly enamored of his sacramental Loi'd. He 
would often converse on this topic to his com- 



HIS LOVE OF GOD. 179 

panions, and his words were as fire, enldndling 
in the hearts of those that listened to him, a 
flame similar to his own. It is impossible to 
express the deep feeling with w^hich he spoke of 
the goodness which Jesus manifests, in dwelling 
among so many souls that are cold and indiffer- 
ent toward Him, who care next to nothing about 
Him ; in remaining in so many unadorned and un- 
becoming places, without even that poor little 
lamp to do Him homage, or keep Him company ! 
Such was his emotion on these occasions, that his 
eyes would fill wdth tears, and such his language 
that all who listened to him were deeply affected. 
As often as was at all possible, he visited his 
sacramental Love, and knelt before Him in rapt 
adoration. " During those visits," says F. Xavier, 
" he used to be so absorbed in prayer, that we 
had to shake him in order to draw^ his attention 
to something else." He had the habit of going 
to the choir a little before the office commenced, 
so as to enjoy the society of his Beloved a little 
longer than the community. Whenever he had 
any spare time, even w^ere it only a minute, he 
Avould spend it before the tabernacle. In passing 
near the choir, if he could do it without being 
noticed, he always genuflected in the direction of 
the Blessed Sacrament ; but sometimes it would 
happen that his watchfulness would be eclipsed 
by his fervor, and so his companions were wit- 
nesses of many an act of reverence that he never 



180 THE LIFE OF YEN. GABlilEL. 

intended them to see. When duty hindered him 
from actually visiting our Lord, he then visited 
Him in spirit : quite frequently too, he would 
ask his guardian angel to go and adore their 
common Master, especially in the places where 
He was most abandoned. To his companions he 
recommended these practices, and he would add : 
"At the hour of death w^e will be able to say, 
' My Jesus, I paid you ever so many little visits : 
do not abandon me now, O Jesus, my Love ! ' " 

Now, love is by its very nature unitive, it 
transforms a soul into the object of its affection ; 
hence in a soul that loves God wholly, God be- 
comes its life, as the apostle says : " He who 
adheres to the Lord is one spirit." This is the 
liighest stage of the spiritual life, the life of 
union. For this we have to overcome the evil 
that is in us by penance, humility and mortifica- 
tion : for this have we to develop the good that 
is in us b}^ ever-increasing faith, hope and charity : 
all this prepares us for the last and perfect state, 
that of intimate union of our soul with God. 
Though we can never deserve so great a favor, 
we ma}^ nevertheless dispose ourselves for it by 
the exercises of the purgative and illuminative 
states, waiting in all humility and faithfulness 
until the Master bids us " come up higher." 
Thus, at last there comes a time when God 
takes complete possession and control of our 
mind, enlightening our understanding with the 



HIS LOVE OF GOD. 181 

light of His presence, and directing oic7' will by 
the influence of His will, so that the former be- 
comes the docile instrument of the latter. In 
this new state, the intellect so lives in God that 
even in the midst of distracting occupations, it 
remains conscious of His presence, Avhile the 
will becomes so united with God's will that it 
ceases to desire anything whatever save God's 
good pleasure ; " whether w^e live, or whether 
we die, we are the Lord's." One's passions in- 
deed may still rebel, but they disturb the mind 
no longer ; temptations may be experienced, but 
they do not move the will ; the night of aridity 
may sorely try the faithful heart, but it cannot 
blot out the brightness of that light wherein the 
soul basks at the feet of God. 

This exalted state of union is usually granted 
only after long years of purification, labor and 
fervor ; but it was bestowed upon Gabriel after 
a few years of his religious life, and it continued 
ever to increase unto the full light of glory. If 
at any time he were suddenly to be asked of 
Avhat he was thinking, he could have answered : 
" God ! " Never did he entertain willingly any 
other thought ; and as soon as such presented 
themselves, he banished them. All this was ac- 
companied by the 'affections of his heart, so that 
he found therein such nourishment and satisfac- 
tion that his interior peace and joy were reflected 
in his whole external appearance. "As the re- 



182 THE LIFE OF VEIN^. GABRIEL. 

suit of this interior union of love," F. Norbert 
continues, " he kept his heart fixed and absorbed 
in God even while engaged in bodily work, the 
one helping instead of hindering the other, in a 
Avonderful manner. Whether at study or recrea- 
tion, Avhether walking alone or in company, 
Avhether in school or in choir, he was uniformly 
recollected and united with God in the superior 
part of his soul." Consequently when entering 
on his spiritual exercises, there was no need for 
him to make any preparation or introduction, 
for in truth his prayer was unbroken. " His 
heart," F. Bernard writes, '' was in continual ac- 
tivity : at all times there sprang up in him a 
succession of holy thoughts and burning affec- 
tions. Always modest and recollected, it seemed 
as if there was nothing in this visible world that 
concerned him, or deserved his attention." " He 
experienced greater ease and relish in commun- 
ing with the Divine Majesty than others find in 
the most congenial occupations ; whilst contrari- 
wise, for him to turn his mind away from God 
and hol}^ things, was practically impossible. God 
had become his life, because He had become the 
one object of his love ; and the peace of heaven 
that surpasseth all understanding so possessed 
his heart and mind that he often said : ' My 
life is full of joy : what more can I desire in this 
vale of tears ? I could not be happier than I 
am.'" 



THE EVANGELICAL COUJ^SELS. 183 



XXTII. 
THE EVANGELICAL COUNSELS. 

Hitherto we have followed our dear Brother 
Gabriel in his gradual progress unto perfect 
union with God by. love : it now remains for us 
to see by what means he reached such a sublime 
degree of holiness. 

No one can attain that state unless he be de- 
tached from the world: "If any man love the 
world, the charity of the Father is not in him, 
for all that is in the world is the concupiscence 
of the flesh, and the concupiscence of the eyes, 
and the pride of life." In order to make this 
detachment complete and this freedom un- 
hampered, Christ in His holy Gospel gives the 
counsels of virginity as the means of overcom- 
ing the concupiscence of the flesh ; poverty^ the 
concupiscence of the eyes ; and obedience^ the 
pride of life. These are not imposed as com- 
mands on any one, but are offered by him to all 
who wish to become perfect ; and it is the irre- 
vocable acceptance of these gospel counsels 
which constitutes the religious state, and makes 
it a state of perfection. Since Gabriel's sancti- 
fication was wrought in the religious state, we 



184 THE LIFE OF YEN. GABRIEL. 

must of course consider how he observed these 
counsels of perfection ; mindful too, that for the 
religious, these counsels become strict precepts, 
by reason of the self -assumed obligation of the 
religious vows. 

" He that does not renounce all that he pos- 
sesses cannot be the disciple of Christ." De- 
tachment of heart from temporal possessions- is 
the necessary condition of salvation, but actual 
renunciation is the condition of perfection^ " If 
thou wilt be perfect, go sell what thou hast, and 
give to the poor." By his vow of poverty, the 
religious renounces forever the right of lawfully 
exercising any act of proprietorship for his own 
personal benefit. Hence he can neither receive 
nor give, nor dispose of anything without per- 
mission, since he has simply the use of what he 
needs in food, raiment and shelter : he is further- 
more dependent upon his superior even for the 
use of such things ; so that he becomes in reality 
poorer than the very beggar. 

No sooner had Gabriel entered into religion, 
than he seemed to have absorbed thoroughly 
the spirit of poverty. Thenceforward there was 
nothing in his demeanor that perpetuated his 
former fondness for vanity and show. He was 
so completely transformed in manner and tastes, 
that it gave him particular pleasure to wear old 
clothes patched with many pieces : yet he was 
never untidy, for in divesting himself of worldly 



THE EVANGELICAL COUNSELS. 185 

vanity, he was not expected to cast aside that 
neatness wliich is the ornament of religious pov- 
erty, and that cleanliness which, if not always 
next to godliness, certainly goes a long Avay in 
rendering it attractive. "Poverty," says the 
rule, ''is laudable, but dirt is blamable." In the 
distribution of common articles of clothing, 
whenever it was in his power, he would choose 
the worst ; but if he could not succeed herein, 
he would try to obtain leave to exchange with 
others, giving the better and keeping the worse. 
Never could he be induced to keep for his pri- 
vate use, anything that was not strictly necessary. 
As the Passionist is his own servant, Gabriel 
kept his cell, and all it contained, scrupulously 
neat and in perfect order : namely, a small table, 
two chairs, and a straw bed ; but beyond this he 
wanted nothing, and rigidly excluded everything 
superfluous. With regard to his books, he would 
not keep any that had beautiful bindings, no 
matter how plain they might otherwise be, but 
he studiously selected such as were well worn. 
Never could he be prevailed upon to keep in his 
room any book that was not indispensable for 
his studies or spiritual reading ; and when told 
that such or such a work might be of real use to 
him some time or other, he ansAvered that when 
" some time or other " came, he would ask permis- 
sion for the book in question. He did not even 
wish to keep writing-paper, pens or pencils for his 



186 THE LIFE OF VEN. GABRIEL. 

own use, preferring to get these things just when 
they became actually necessary, but he was di- 
rected to conform to the common custom, and 
avail himself of the permissions allowed by the 
rule. 

*' I will not take any food outside of the ap- 
pointed time," we read in one of his resolutions. 
" I will be contented with what is served, with- 
out ever complaining either in word or thought, 
mindful that I have made a vow of poverty." 
Faithful to this resolve, he never brought up the 
subject of food in his conversation, but with a 
thankful heart partook of whatever was put be- 
fore him, and daily prayed fervently for our 
benefactors. " We are poor," he would often 
say, "and we should demean ourselves accord- 
ingly. . . . The poor are so frequently in 
w^ant even of what is necessary ; we too should 
be willing to put up with our inconveniences 
gladly. ... If some poor people had Avhat 
we have, they would think that every day was a 
feast: 'Ogni giorno farebbero Pasqua.'" If, 
while at the common table, it sometimes hap- 
pened that Gabriel was passed over, and did not 
receive what had been served to the rest, he ab- 
stained from making any sign whatever : he was 
even anxious that it should not be remarked, do- 
ing all in his power lest the nearest religious 
should perceive it. On the other hand, he was 
all attention that nothing should be wanting to 



THE EVANGELICAL COUNSELS. 187 

his neighbors : and if they happened to be neg- 
lected, Gabriel would rise from his place, notify 
the superior, often going himself to the kitchen, 
and then beaming with joy, would offer to his 
companion what had been missed. Even in the 
use of condiments, such as salt or similar things, 
he was so sparing that his superior had to watch 
him, and finally had to lay down a rule to be 
followed uniformly, which of course, Gabriel ob- 
served with great docility. In helping himself 
to bread, he tried to get the broken pieces from 
the basket ; and whenever he could arrange it, 
always managed to put the loaves before the 
other religious, reserving the scraps for himself. 
"Piety with sufficiency," says the apostle, "is a 
great gain. For we brought nothing into this 
w^orld ; and certainly we can carry nothing out. 
But having food and wherewith to be covered : 
w^ith these we are content." (1 Tim. vi. 6.) 
"By the favor of Jesus and Mary, I have re- 
nounced all things," echoed our Gabriel, " and I 
could not be more contented than I am." In 
the practice of poverty, he made himself depend- 
ent even in the least things : never did he take 
the slightest liberty against this virtue ; on the 
contrary, he strove to do with less than he was 
allowed. J^ot only was he detached from created 
things, but also from whatever was assigned for 
his use : he was utterly indifferent whether his 
superior changed it for something else, or took 



188 THE LIFE OF YEN. GABRIEL. 

it away altogether. With his crucifix before 
him, Gabriel ever considered Him " who when 
He was rich, became poor. He considered the 
great God of Heaven and the Master of earth 
being born in a stable, suffering hunger and 
thirst, heat and cold, persecutions and contempt ; 
not having w^hereon to lay His head, dying naked 
and forsaken on the cross : " all this stimulated 
him to walk in the footsteps of the Master, and 
to imitate the poverty of Jesus Christ. 

As we have already spoken of Gabriel's chas- 
tity and virginal modesty under the head of tem- 
perance, w^e will pass to the third evangelical coun- 
sel : obedience. It is just because this vow crushes 
out the pride of life — our chiefest obstacle to sal- 
vation — and takes away all solicitude about the 
ordering of our conduct, that obedience is the 
foundation of the religious life, and the corner- 
stone of evangelical perfection. " Let the breth- 
ren, therefore, of this least congregation take care 
not only to profess obedience by word of mouth, 
but let them also display it in a holy way in 
their actions. When commanded, let them obey 
promptly, simply and gladly. When called in 
any manner, to any services or duties, let them 
immediately fly to the performance." In these 
lines, the rule sums up the teaching of the ascetic 
Fathers, as found in substance in the rule of all 
religious orders and congregations. 

Of Gabriel's own views on this subject, we 



THE EVANGELICAL COUNSELS. 189 

have an exact compendium in the following reso- 
lution : " In what relates to obedience, I will be 
punctual. I vrill obey the voice of the superior 
and of the bell, as if they were the very voice of 
God Himself. In my obedience, I will examine 
neither the how nor the wh(/ : I will conform my 
judgment to that of the superior, reflecting that 
for me the order is from God, and I will say : ' I 
obey, O Lord, because it is thy will.' " 

His fidelity to these resolutions is attested by 
all who knew him. " One of the most singular 
things noticed in this young man," writes F. 
Bernard Mary, " was his submission and docility 
in all things : and this was the more remarkable 
in Gabriel, since his most notable fault as a sec- 
ular had been precisely his ungovernable temper. 
No sooner had he joined the congregation, than 
he reformed to such a degree, that he hardly 
seemed to be himself any longer : the will of 
liis superior, were it only intimated by a sign, 
was enough to influence him to do whatever was 
desired." 

In these days when the false principles of Prot- 
estantism and infidelity have made independence 
and self-assertion the main features of manliness 
and character, it may not be easy for the young 
to see at a glance, the nobility of a life of sub- 
mission. However, to a thinking mind it must 
be clear, that our reason exercises its highest act, 
when enlightened by God's truth; so our will 



190 THE LIFE OF VEIS^. GABRIEL. 

enjoys its grandest independence when governed 
by the divine will. The full liberty of the will 
is therefore secured by obedience, as the full il- 
lumination of the mind is produced by faith. 
Yet, as faith ultimately requires an act of obedi- 
ence from our will, so does obedience finally sup- 
pose the truth of faith in our intellect, if its 
greatest excellence is to be realized. When then, 
a religious voluntarily submits to a superior, 
commanding according to a rule approved of by 
the supreme judgment of the Church, he knows 
that he is submitting to the will of God. And 
even as a Christian's faith finds an objective in- 
fallibility in the teaching of the sovereign Pon- 
tiff, in all that pertains to doctrine and morality ; 
so likewise, does a religious find in obedience, a 
subjective infallibility in whatever the superior 
commands within the sphere of the rule. " He 
that heareth you, heareth me." — Gabriel's direc- 
tor deposes : " No child in its mother's arms 
could be more tractable than this youth, under 
the guidance of his superior : for him, the voice 
of his prelate was the voice of God ; and the 
least desire was tantamount to an order, which 
he was anxious to fulfil : consequently I had to 
be very careful in his presence, not to show any 
sign of desire or inclination, lest he should con- 
strue it as a command, and think himself obliged 
to carry it out. 

Ko doubt the world, and those who are imbued 



THE EVANGELICAL COUlSrSELS. 191 

Avith its spirit, will fail to see the beauty of obedi- 
ence, when carried to such a degree : still, when 
did the world ever appreciate the spirit of God ? 
. . . But such submission is foolishness ! . . . 
Yes, but it is the foolishness of God, which is 
wiser than men. . . . It is unmanly ! . . . 
Oh, no ! It cannot be voted unmanly to be sub- 
ject to God, and to imitate God : rather, it is 
divine ! Look at the crib ! . . . consider the 
cross ! . . . and remember that it is written : 
" Let this mind be in you, which was also in 
Christ Jesus ... he humbled himself, be- 
coming obedient." 



192 THE LIFE OF VEK. GABRIEL. 



XXI Y. 

HIS SPIRIT OF PRAYER. 

By the irrevocable obligation and observance 
of the evangelical counsels, a religious is freed 
from the world, and is thereby disposed to raise 
his soul to God by love. Now the actual rising 
of our soul to God is called mental prayer : 
oratio est ascensus mentis in Deum. From this 
it follows that a religious will become perfect 
just in proportion as he habituates himself to 
mental prayer. 

There is nothing on which our rule insists 
more urgently and repeatedly than this salutary 
practice, and our Holy Founder never ceased to 
assert that the spirit of His institute was the 
spirit of prayer. 

Under the direction of his spiritual guides, 
Gabriel imbibed this spirit from the beginning : 
it was the exercise of mental prayer that led him 
securely through the various phases of the spirit- 
ual way, bringing him ultimately to that intimate 
union with God by love that has been already 
described. '' From the first days of his noviti- 
ate," writes F. Bernard, " he so fixed his thoughts 
and affections on spiritual things that it seemed 



HIS SPIRIT OF PKAYER. 193 

as tliougii they had hitherto been the only things 
that he cared for : no sooner had he given him- 
self up to the practice of mental prayer, than he 
was so fully convinced of its advantages that he 
felt for it an insatiable longing, and found such 
sweetness in this holy exercise, that a whole hour 
passed by as though it were only a moment. 
This, doubtless, was a special gift from the Father 
of lights, from whom descends everything good 
and perfect, but still, as Gabriel's director ob- 
serves, it is no w^onder that having given himself 
to God with all his heart and soul, this j^oung 
religious received in return so sweet and partic- 
ular a communication from God that on merely 
commencing his meditation, his mind v/as flooded 
with holy thoughts, and his will with holy af- 
fections, thus making mental prayer and recol- 
lection of spirit his constant delight. With all 
carefulness then he availed himself of every op- 
portunity of communing with God, spending 
herein even the scraps of time remaining from 
his regular employments : and even in these ex- 
terior occupations, his mind was so fixed on God 
that, with his director we can truthfully say 
that his prayer was tw^enty-four hours long every 
day. Without ever growing tepid in this hoh^ 
exercise, even in the season of aridity, he main- 
tained his love and practice of it his w^hole life 
long, and at last obtained the gift of the most 
elevated kind of prayer." 



194 THE LIFE OF VEN. GABRIEL. 

During his last sickness, he grieved that the 
pain he felt in his head prevented him from at- 
tending to meditation, but he was directed to be 
content with making fervent aspirations from 
time to time, offering up his sufferings in penance 
for his sins ; and he gave himself with such 
heartiness to these ejaculations that sometimes 
his attendants judged it prudent to moderate his 
fervor. Above all, did he delight in the time set 
apart for the formal exercise of mental praj^er, 
experiencing therein as much ease and satisfac- 
tion as many others find displeasure and uncon- 
genial effort. Had he been allowed, he would 
likewise have spent in prayer the hour of the 
afternoon siesta, so necessary in southern coun- 
tries. Similarly, he wished to continue his 
meditation from the midnight office of matins 
till dawn, but his constitution and his studies 
forbade it, and the coveted permission was never 
granted. 

" From the beginning," F. Norbert testifies, 
" the maxims and mysteries upon which he medi- 
tated impressed him so deeply, and so filled his 
soul with affections, that unconsciously he would 
break forth into sighs and tears, so that I often 
reprehended him for distracting the religious who 
were all engaged together at their usual medita- 
tion.-' F. Bernard writes that during his prayer, 
Gabriel's appearance was beautiful to behold : he 
remained immovable like a statue, showing by 



HIS SPIRIT OF PRAYEfe. 195 

his evident composure and devotion how deeply 
all his faculties were hnmersed in the object of 
his meditation. " From then on, until God tried 
him by aridity of spirit," continues his director, 
*'the time of prayer was for him a season of 
lieavenly delights." The time of trial however, 
came soon, and God left His servant to battle 
against spiritual dryness and temptation, that his 
fervor might be proved and tested. " Against Ga- 
briel's spirit of prayer," says F. Xorbert, " hell 
aroused itself, and many were the attempts which 
the devils made to induce him to give up so 
salutary an exercise, or at least to make him 
grow tepid in its practice ; so that when prayer- 
time would come, it seemed to Gabriel that he 
was going to choir only to be tempted." He ex- 
perienced the most frightful and violent assaults 
against the truth of whatever he had selected for 
his meditation ; and at other times, horrible and 
disgusting imaginations were superadded. But 
after disclosing all these difficulties to his spiritual 
guide, Gabriel despised all the artifices of the 
enemy, persevering with stronger purpose in his 
prayer, and never desisted from his meditation. 
These strutr^^les did not even cause in him any 
undue agitation of soul ; he simply and calmJy 
continued his interior communion with God with 
increased attention, faith and resolution : " so that 
in course of time," says F. Bernard, " he attained 
such a degree of perfection in holy prayer, that 



196 THE LIFE OF yEN. GABRIEL. 

he could spend the whole time set apart for it 
without being disturbed by any distracting 
thoughts." 

Our Gabriel how^ever did not attain such a 
state of continued and elevated prayer without 
personal exertion. " From his very novitiate," 
writes his director, ''the servant of God strove to 
dispose himself for the gift of prayer, by purify- 
ing his soul ever more and more, emptying his 
heart of all affections, and disengaging his mind 
from all thoughts that were not about God or 
holy things. With great diligence he checked 
his natural curiosity, curbed his self-love, and 
avoided all useless thoughts. He was averse to 
listening to mere worldly news, saying : ' It is 
useless to spend time in such discourses ; after 
all, what comes of it? Even did it entail no 
other inconvenience it may prove distracting to 
us in our prayer.' ' Time spent in talking about 
such things is time lost : let us rather keep nearer 
to God.' His aversion for indifferent topics of 
conversation was so well known to his com- 
panions, that if they happened to be engaged on 
such subjects during recreation, no sooner did 
Gabriel join them, than they at once substituted 
either something devotional, or else some topic rel- 
ative to their studies. He frequently spoke about 
mental prayer, and remarked that ' God often in- 
spires us to mortify ourselves in some little thing 
or other that is retarding our growth in holiness. 



HIS SPIRIT OF PRAYER. 197 

and if we do not correspond to the inspiration, 
we do not succeed in our prayer either.' " 

He also paid particular attention to spiritual 
reading, so highly esteemed by the masters of 
ascetic theology, as an admirable help to medita- 
tion and interior recollection, prudently using 
those books that his director judged best adapted 
to his spiritual progress. Nor was he less careful 
in hearkening to the advice of the Holy Ghost : 
" Before prayer prepare thy soul, and be not like 
a man who tempteth God." (Eccli. xviii. 23.) 
To succeed the better in his prayer, he always 
chose and prepared the subject beforehand : then, 
having guarded his spirit with extraordinary care, 
he entered upon his meditation with the greatest 
interior relish. 

The kind reader must have noticed that when 
speaking of prayer, we have repeatedly used the 
word meditat{o7i ; by which we mean the reason- 
ing out of some spiritual maxim or truth of faith. 
It would be impossible especially for beginners 
to apply oneself for any length of time to the 
exercise of mental prayer without the assistance 
of meditation. In meditatione meet exardescet 
ignis, (Ps. xxxviii. 4.) It is in meditation that 
the fire bursts out, that is, the fervor of charity. 
Now, this meditation is a science, the science of 
the saints, and its principles, rules and methods 
are learned from accredited masters. Although 
St. Paul of the Cross has not bound his children 



198 THE LIFE OF VEK. GABRIEL. 

to follow any particular method of prayer, a few 
simple rules are laid down in the novitiate, and 
these our Gabriel mastered even before he was 
clothed in the holy habit. Still, after the theory 
of meditation is mastered, it long remains the 
most difficult, as well as the most laborious part 
of prayer ; and because they shrink from making 
the necessary effort, many never become familiar 
with this holy exercise, which is the roN^al road 
unto union with God by love. Not so with Ga- 
briel. He applied to meditation with an ear- 
nestness that neither sensible comfort, nor spirit- 
ual aridity could relax. He realized that habit- 
ual prayer is a gratuitous gift of God ; but he 
likewise knew that the personal labor of medita- 
tion is its condition. However, " during the last 
year of his life, and a little more, I had," says F. 
Norbert, '' to forbid him the exercise of formal 
meditation, because the manner in which he ap- 
plied himself thereunto really injured his already 
shattered health." Some of our readers will easily 
realize what a sacrifice and pain this prohibition 
must have been for the fervent youth ; still, he 
obeyed with the docility of a child. It must be 
remarked furthermore, that this prohibition was 
laid on him onlv toward the end of his life, and 
then only with regard to formal meditation ; the 
habit, however, of interior recollection and com- 
munion with God (which is true mental prayer) 
continued, as we liave seen, in Gabriel without 



HIS SPIRIT OF PRAYER. 199 

interruption, and was exercised b}^ him to the 
very end of life. We read of the martyrdom of 
love suffered by St. Aloysius when he was di- 
rected to distract his mind from God ; such an in- 
junction was not laid on our Gabriel, because 
obedience to it would have been impossible, 
whilst the strain of trying to comply with it, 
would have defeated its object. In this we may 
well admire the prudence of Gabriel's director. 
The object of meditation is to enlighten the un- 
derstanding so as to move the will to raise itself 
to God by mental prayer ; and since this end 
was habitually attained by Gabriel, there was 
no danger in his temporary abandonment of the 
means, especially under the watchful eye of his 
director. Besides, the lights which reason de- 
rives from the truths of faith by meditation, 
were now directly communicated to his intelli- 
gence ; and when speaking of his union with the 
Supreme Good, we have shown how completely 
his mind was filled with this heavenly light, and 
how it gently moved his will to unite itself to 
God by most fervent aspirations. 



200 THE LIFE OF VEK. GABKIEL. 



XXY. 

HIS DEVOTIOIN^ TO THE PASSIOjS". 

" Let the meditations generally be about the 
divine attributes and perfections, and also about 
the mj^steries of the life, passion and death of 
our Lord Jesus Christ, from which all religious 
perfection and sanctity takes its rule and in- 
crease." Such is the commencement of the 
chapter on mental prayer in our rule. 

God himself could find no more excellent way 
to manifest His attributes and perfections, and 
above all His love for man, than by the passion 
and death of Jesus Christ ; and man can find no 
more powerful motive than this to avoid sin, to 
practice virtue and to love his God. 

" The Passion was the ordinary subject of Ga- 
briel's meditations," writes his director; ''but he 
did not rest satisfied with a few superficial con- 
siderations and affections ; he entered into it in 
such a manner as to be penetrated with the rea- 
sons for which Jesus suffered and died, investing 
himself with his sentiments and motives, espe- 
cially his infinite love ; and to render these medi- 
tations practically useful, he considered in par- 
ticular those virtues of w^hich our suffering Lord 



HIS DEVOTION TO THE PASvSIOlSr. 201 

gives us such bright examples, bringing home to 
himself their circumstances and divine perfec- 
tion. In the light of these considerations, Ga- 
briel humbled himself for his faults and short- 
comings, conceived a high esteem and love of 
virtue, encouraged himself to practice it, form- 
ing at the same time the strongest resolutions. 
These he carried away in his heart, kept them 
continually before his mind, and tried to incor- 
porate into his daily life." 

Thus the passion of the Son of God became 
deeply engraved upon his heart, so that a mere 
glance at the crucifix would instantly recall the 
considerations, affections and resolutions of his 
prayer, and thus too, he conformed his life ever 
more and more to the life of Jesus. Passio 
Domini nostri Jesu Christi sit semper in cordi- 
iits nostris : this was his motto, symbolized by 
the Sign that we wear on our breast. " May the 
Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ be ever in our 
hearts ! " Truly was it impressed on his ! No 
conversation pleased him if not seasoned with 
the memory of our suffering Lord, " Gesu Ap- 
passionato " as the expression runs in his native 
tongue. Truly could he have spoken of himself 
in the w^ords of the apostle : " I judged not myself 
to know anything among you but Jesus Christ 
and Him crucified." (1 Cor. ii. 2.) 

" From the commencement of his religious life, 
when he began to meditate seriously on this sub- 



202 THE LIFE OF VEN. GABRIEL. 

ject, the servant of God applied all the powers 
of his soul to it, so that, as F. Bernard deposes, it 
seemed as if his mind could fix itself on nothing 
else, and as if the love and gratitude of his heart 
could be centred on nothing else. It was enough 
merely to allude to Christ's sufferings to make 
his fervent spirit burst into sudden flame, like 
flax when touched with fire. He would at once 
begin to speak with wonderful fluency and enthu- 
siasm, and this he w^ould keep up for a consider- 
able time. At such times our companions, who 
before had been conversing among themselves, 
Avould as by a common impulse turn to Gabriel, 
and captivated by his extraordinary and touch- 
ing words, listen eagerly to him as he spoke of 
our duty of mourning over the sacred passion of 
Jesus, in union with His Blessed Mother." Often, 
too, did he call their attention to their distinctive 
obligation as Passionists " to promote according 
to their ability, devotion to the sufferings and 
death of our Blessed Kedeemer in the hearts of 
the faithful." A few times only, he was chosen 
to deliver a little discourse in the church attached 
to our retreat, and then he plainly showed to 
all, his zeal and fervor to the great spiritual edi- 
fication and profit of his hearers : but it Avas not 
often given him to promote this grand work in 
public, daily however he earnestly besought our 
Lord to assist all those that advanced this salu- 
tary devotion. 



HIS DEVOTION TO THE PASSION. 203 

Even in His glor}^ our Blessed Saviour exhibits 
the wounds He received in His crucifixion as so 
many trophies of His love, for the contemplation 
of saints and angels ; and such is His desire that 
on earth too, all men should piously remember 
them, that He left us the Sacrifice of His Body 
and Blood as a perpetual commemoration of His 
death. When assisting at Mass our Gabriel found 
his delight in devout meditations on the Passion, 
together with fervent prayers. In his visits to 
the Blessed Sacrament, and in Holy Communion 
one thought was predominant in his mind : " He 
who is here^ suffered and died for me! " During 
the hours spent daily in meditation in the shadow 
of the tabernacle, one thought was ever welling 
up from his heart : " He who suffered and died 
for me is here .^ " 

The Sacrament of the Altar was then for him 
truly what Christ desired it to be, the living com- 
memoration of the Passion. 

There was yet another means to the same end, 
dear to the heart of Gabriel ; one which the 
Church of God has ever conspicuously placed both 
ill life and in death before the eyes of her chil- 
dren : the crucifix. '' They shall look upon Me 
whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn ; " 
(Zach. xii. 11) " and I, if I be lifted up from the 
earth, will draw all things to Myself." (John 
xii. 32.) '' Whilst they are in their cells," say our 
regulations, " let the religious keep the crucifix 



204 THE LIFE OF VEN. GABRIEL. 

before their eyes, and often take refuge in its 
sacred wounds and accustom their hearts to send 
forth frequent darts of love toward their sover- 
eign Good." Gabriel fully entered into the spirit 
of this regulation ; for he kept his crucifix on his 
table by the side of his book, or even held it in 
his hand : and so frequently did he press it to 
his lips, that he actually wore it away. It was 
principally at the foot of his crucifix that he 
spent those few minutes of meditation before 
spoken of ; his first thought in the morning was 
Jesus Crucified ; with His image closely pressed 
to his heart he fell asleep at night ; while reciting 
the divine office in choir he had continually be- 
fore his eyes a devout little picture of the cruci- 
fixion, joined to which was a still smaller one of 
the Virgin of Dolors. For Gabriel, the crucifix 
became the book of life ; therein he studied the 
mystery of a crucified God, humility, patience 
and love supreme ; from it he imbibed a prefer- 
ence for poverty, humiliation and suffering, thus 
" Bearing about in his body the mortification of 
Jesus." In the words of his biographer, " Ga- 
briel's soul was like an altar on which was con- 
tinually offered some act of interior mortification 
or exterior penance," growing thereby into the 
likeness of Him who was " as a worm and no 
man, the reproach of men and the outcast of his 
people." This is the explanation of those ex- 
cesses and extravagances (as the world would 



HIS DEVOTIOX TO THE PASSIOX. 205 

style them) which we adverted to when speak- 
ing of his poverty and mortification, his charity 
and humilit}^, his regularity and obedience. The 
young worldling of Spoleto had learned from the 
cross to love and even seek to be despised, that 
he might the more easily attain to religious per- 
fection. This asceticism, however, is not peculiar 
to the Passionist rule : it is the pith of all Chris- 
tian spirituality ever since the days of the apostles. 
" Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ 
Jesus, who being in the form of God debased 
Himself . . . humbled Himself . . . even 
unto the death of the cross." (Phil. ii. 5, 8.) 



206 THE LIFE OF ve:n\ gabkiel. 



XXVI. 

HIS DEVOTIOK to MARY. 

It Avould seem natural for the kind reader to 
conclude from the foregoing chapters, that he 
had formed a fair estimate of the extent and 
character of Confrater Gabriel's holiness ; but 
the present chapter will, we hope, entirely dis- 
abuse him of such an idea : for strange as it may 
seem, the mainspring of Gabriel's sanctity, its 
largest ingredient, its master-key opening for us 
the most intimate recesses of his heart, has not 
yet been mentioned. Though sanctitj^ is essen- 
tially the same in all the saints, yet it assumes in 
each great servant of God, certain traits more or 
less clearly defined, that enables the church to 
sing of him : " Non est inventus shnilis illi : His 
like hath not been found." 

Now, Gabriel's director tells us, that his devo- 
tion to the most holy Virgin was his greatest 
characteristic. So devout was he to Mary, so 
filled was his heart with love for her, that any 
description of it would prove inadequate. He 
does not hesitate to assert, that not only did he 
never see in any one else so singular a devotion, 
but that he had scarcely ever met with anything 



HIS DEVOTION TO MAKY. 207 

similar to it even in books ; and only in the lives 
of the greatest saints was its parallel to be found 
at all. In his supplicatory letter to Pope Leo, 
Cardinal Parocchi expressly says : " Mary was 
the very soul of Gabriel's life, the source and 
model of the sanctity to which he attained ; so 
that it may be truly said, that in his devotion to 
the great Mother of God, he has scarcely been 
equaled by any even of the greatest saints. 
This devotion of his," continues the cardinal, 
" was evidenced by so many deeds of unusual 
piety, that it was the belief of those that knew 
him, that this holy youth had been raised up in 
the Church by God, to serve as a model of filial 
love and reverence to all the clients of the most 
holy Virgin." 

Such is the judgment of the illustrious cardi- 
nal, after reading the testimony of the official 
process for GabriePs beatification ; and, be it al- 
lowed us to say, that we are deeply thankful to 
our Blessed Mother for having (besides the many 
favors received from her merciful hand) deigned 
to give to our congregation, so dear a servant of 
hers. Owing its very foundation to the Mother 
of Sorrows, our little congregation will not con- 
sent to be outdone by any other, in filial piety 
and love. " Let them entertain a pious and ar- 
dent devotion toward the Immaculate Virgin 
Mother of God," says St. Paul of the Cross in 
our rule, " let them strive to imitate her sublime 



208 THE LIFE OF VEIS". GABRIEL. 

virtues, and merit her seasonable protection 
amidst so many dangers." 

Gabriel's devotion could not but expand under 
auspices so favorable ; and in fact, it was soon 
an object of admiration to all, and gently stimu- 
lated them to greater fervor. Among the saints 
he honored witii especial affection, those who 
had been most devout to Mary ; and among their 
books he showed a predilection for those that 
treated of her greatness. Two books in particu- 
lar were ever dear to him, and served to inflame 
his piety toward his heavenly Queen : the " Glories 
of Mary " by St. Alphonsus, and " The Love of 
Mary " by Dom Robert, a Camaldolese Hermit.^ 
The second of these was his chosen favorite. In 
the little volume he found his delight : it was, 
besides, his sure guide in his devotion to the 
Madonna. Owing to his daily use of it, for the 
six years of his religious life, he wore the little 
manual to pieces : he fed upon its pleasant pages 
with ever renewed fervor. 

" After reading these two books," says F. Ber- 
nard, " Gabriel's heart became a furnace of love 
toward the Queen of heaven : his mind was in a 
manner transformed into Mary, so that he could 
no longer speak, nor think, nor act, without hav- 
ing her present before his mind." 

^ <* The Love of Mary " has been translated into English, and 
was published in New York in 1856, by Edw. Dunigan and Bros. 
A new edition was since put on the market. There are many edi- 
tions of the classical work of St. Alphonsus. 



HIS DEVOTION TO MARY. 209 

We may be asked how Gabriel's continual at- 
tention to the Blessed Virgin can be harmonized 
with what has been said about his continual at- 
tention to the presence of God. 

We must remember then, that in this life we 
cannot know God essentially, that is, we cannot 
understand the divine nature, we cannot even see 
it and live. The majesty of the Most High is 
revealed to us principally in Jesus Christ, His In- 
carnate Son : but after His deified humanity, we 
can arrive at our knowledge of God, His perfec- 
tions, and His ways, from His works; and 
amongst them all, from the devout contempla- 
tion of the most Blessed Virgin. Is not Mary 
the Mother of Jesus, the Mother of God ? Is 
she not therefore, the masterpiece of an all-pow- 
erful, all-wise, and an all-holy God ? Is she not 
the adequate realization of His ideal in the orders 
of mere nature, of grace and of glory ? Even 
as Jesus is the uncreated and consubstantial im- 
age of the Father ; so is Mary the created, the 
subordinate but adequate mirror, of all His com- 
municable perfections. Surely, God owed it to 
Himself, to make her as worthy of being His 
Mother, as a created nature would allow of : for 
anything short of this would not have been 
worthy of God. Surely the God who is the au- 
thor of the Fourth Commandment of the deca- 
logue, would Himself show what a loving and all- 
powerful Son could do for His chosen Mother. 



210 THE LIFE OF VEN. GABRIEL. 

Therefore, Mary is all that a mere creature could 
ever be ; for theology and common sense teach 
that even God could not create a higher or holier 
office, than that to which Mary was predestined. 
Only one could ever stand in such a relation to 
the Most High : only one could look with ador- 
ing love into the face of her God, and say, 
" Thou art my Son ! " 

We need not wonder then, when we are told 
by F. Bernard, that Gabriel seemed to live and 
act under the hallowed charm of the Virgin 
Mary : a passing thought, a casual word about 
her, was enough to enkindle his devotion, and 
])lnnge him into sweetest contemplations of her 
unparalleled greatness. Whenever he thought 
of Mary, he most naturally thought of God also, 
Avhose mother and masterpiece she is : in a word, 
he saw God in her, and her in God. In one of 
his earliest biographers, we read: "After God, 
the Supreme Good, Mary was Gabriel's life, his 
sweetness and his hope ; devotion to her clothed 
all his virtues with a new and gracious splendor ; 
and even as the singular graces with which God 
adorned him were reflected from his counte- 
nance, nay his whole demeanor; so too, did it 
seem that they also reflected Mary's beaut}^, on 
account of the continual and tender affection 
which he cherished for her." So congenial to 
mind and heart was this exercise, that merely 
by recommending himself to her by one '' Hail 



HIS DEVOTIOX TO MARY. 211 

Mary," it would have been quite easy for him to 
spend any hour of the day or night in rapt com- 
munion with her: for it never happened that 
her image Avas quite absent from his mind. 
During his novitiate, wiien the young men were 
not left free to select their subject for mental 
prayer, but had to follow the directions of the 
F. Master, it grieved our Gabriel that he could 
not always meditate on our Blessed Lady ; so, he 
used to repeat : " Recede a me, Domina : Depart 
from me, O Lady, depart from me I " '' It seemed 
as if all his thoughts were concentrated on the 
Madonna," writes his director, " and that his con- 
stant desire was to meet her approval ; and I 
must acknowledge that to explain fully how his 
heart was filled with love for her, would not be 
possible." During his last illness, on acount of 
his sufferings, it gave him great pain to talk to 
any one, or even to listen to others : still, when 
the subject broached was the Blessed Virgin, 
then, whether it vras that he forgot his sickness, 
or that he experienced some kind of relief in his 
sufferings, not only did he love to listen to such 
discourse, but he would himself take part in it, 
showing his reluctance to discontinue it at all. 
He had made it a law" to himself, to practice the 
counsel of St. Bernard : JVo7i recedat ah ore^ nori 
recedat a eorde : Let the sweet name of Mary be 
ever on your lips, and ever in your heart. He 
always pronounced it with a reverence and love 



212 THE LIFE OF YEN. GABRIEL. 

that showed how deeply it affected hnn. Some- 
thnes, forgetting the presence of his companions, 
he would murmur in an undertone : " Maria mia ! " 
and his face would be all lit up with joy. "When- 
ever he heard others mention that sweet name, 
he would uncover his head, and bending low, 
would thus salute his Queen. It was from a 
particular love for her, that he asked to have her 
iioly name as his title, choosing to be called Ga- 
briel of the Holy Virgin of Sorrows. Urged 
moreover by the ardor of his devotion, he ever 
sought new means of manifesting his love. 
Hence, many a time, his director informs us, he 
pleaded for permission to burn the holy name of 
Mary into his breast with a red hot iron. This 
being refused, he proposed what seemed to him 
very much more allowable : he asked leave to 
cut the name into his flesh with a sharp knife. 
Of course such petitions were never granted, but 
there is no doubt of either the sincerity or ex- 
traordinary fervor, which prompted the young 
religious to think of such very unusual prac- 
tices. 

Even as Gabriel's devotion to our Lord re- 
ceived its special feature from the Passion, so did 
his piety toward Our Lady take its distinctive 
coloring from her Compassion. To his heart, 
Jesus appealed by the greatest manifestation of 
His love for us : lie was Gesu Appassionato ; so 
too did Mary appeal to his heart by the greatest 



HIS DEVOTION TO MARY. 213 

manifestation of her love for us : site was Maria 
Addolorata} 

No devotion is more pleasing to Mary, than 
devotion to her dolors. In venerating her as 
" Our Lady of Good Counsel, " '' Our Lady of 
Perpetual Help," " Our Lady of Mercy," etc., we 
seem to be drawn more by our own interests ; at 
best, we honor her in some one of her privileges 
and graces : such as the Immaculate Conception, 
her glorious Assumption, and the like : we share 
in her joy ; — but by devotion to her dolors, we 
share in her sorrows, we suffer with her, we for- 
get self to compassionate her virginal motherly 
heart crushed with unutterable grief . In heaven, 
there is no privilege over which Mary rejoices 
more than to have shared in her divine Son's 
passion : nothing for which that loving Son is 
more grateful, than for her compassion : nor can 
we do an3^thing more pleasing to Him in our ven- 
eration for her, than in sympathizing with her. 
Besides, for Gabriel, this devotion seemed the 
completion, the correlative of his devotion to 
Jesus Crucified, as a Passionist. He was proud 
of his allegiance to his King and his Queen : 
Gabriel, the Passionist, under the patronage of 
the Queen of Sorrows ! This double spirit right- 
fully belongs to us. We see it in the directions 
for the novices : " You are recommended, we 

^ We have not in English the exact equivalents of these endear- 
ing expressions. 



214 THE LIFE OF VEX. GALKIEL. 

read therein, to recall frequently during the day, 
the remembrance of the Passion of our Saviour, 
and the dolors of His most holy Mother, as the 
spirit of our institute requires." The rule itself 
is more emphatic still : '' They (the religious of 
the congregation) should honor with due devo- 
tion, the Blessed Mary Mother of God, ever Vir- 
gin ; have her for chief patroness, constantly 
commemorate the most bitter sorrows which she 
suffered in the Passion and death of her Son, and 
promote her veneration both by word and by ex- 
ample." " Gabriel's devotion to the sorrows of 
Mary was most tender," writes F. Xavier, " and I 
think he even felt it more than his devotion to 
the Passion, or the holy Eucharist : — he spoke of 
her sorrows very often." '' His devotion," says 
his director, " which, as we have seen, was quite 
extraordinary, was concentrated in the Addolo- 
rata. She was his predominant thought, his 
heart, his all." H during the day he had a little 
free time, were it never so short, he would em- 
ploy it in this exercise : and furthermore, he in- 
culcated the same to his fellow-students, in that 
affectionate and winning way that was his own : 
" When we have two or three minutes left over 
from our office," he would say, " how can we use 
them to better advantage, than in compassionat- 
ing our dear Mother ? Let us not forget her an- 
guish, and at the hour of death, the Madonna 
will console and assist us : yea, if expedient for 



HIS DEVOTIOX TO 31AKY. 215 

our soul, she will show herself to us then, and 
she will manage that we will not feel the pains 
of death." Of a truth, these words were literally 
realized in his own happy passage, for it was like 
a gentle sleep. 

" One Saturday," says F. Bernard, " I asked 
our dear companion whether he had made his 
meditation tliat evening on heaven, that being 
our usual subject for Saturday. ' No, indeed,' 
replied he ; ' my heaven is the dolorous heart of 
my dear Mother ! ' " This F. Bernard was sec- 
ond only to F. Is'orbert, in being the confident 
of the secrets of his soul. He tells us that hav- 
ing applied himself to his meditation on the Pas- 
sion of Jesus, Gabriel rested therein with all the 
strength of his mind. But understanding from 
the beginning of his spiritual career, that this 
Passion was wholly reflected in the most holy 
heart of Blessed Mary, as in a mirror ; Gabriel 
then took up his abode in tliat pure heart of hers, 
and united wnth it in compassionating the suffer- 
ings of the Divine Redeemer, and in w^eeping 
over them. From this, there naturally followed 
a sentiment of compassion for the sorrowing 
Mother herself ; and this it was that seemed 
most to affect the sensitive heart of my young 
companion." Like a traveler selecting his stand- 
point, from which to study at leisure the details 
of a vast landscape, Gabriel surveyed the mys- 
teries of the agonizing heart of Jesus, from the 



216 THE LIFE OF VEN. GABRIEL. 

vantage-ground of Mary's heart, the dearest and 
the nearest to Him of all human hearts. Hence, 
it was in that heart, and from that heart, and 
loith that heart that he henceforth learned to 
weep over the mysterious abasement unto death, 
of the Incarnate Son of God : and he saw that 
the sword that pierced Mary's soul through and 
through, was none other than the blessed Passion 
of Jesus. In these meditations, he realized how 
much he had been loved by her, how much ijc 
had cost her, how much he had received from 
her, and these thoughts, spiritually digested in 
his heart, made it bleed in sympathy and com- 
passion, his whole life long. 

Such then was the special characteristic of 
Gabriel's devotion ; hence, whosoever would be 
thoroughly acquainted with the sanctity of this 
dear servant of God must look at him from this 
point of view : Gabriel of the Sorrowful Virgin. 

Having consecrated himself unreservedly as 
the servant, nay, the child of Mary, he ever 
showed unlimited filial confidence in her patron- 
age. If he happened to find himself in some 
sudden perplexity, which at the time he could 
not submit to his director, Gabriel would at 
once turn to the Madonna, commend himself to 
her from his heart, and then choose with assur- 
ance whatever seemed the best thing to be done. 
In fact, before beginning any action, especially 
those of importance, he made an offering of it to 



HIS DEVOTION TO MAllY. 217 

his Queen, saying: " O my Lady! holy Mary, 
take this matter in hand : help me." When be- 
set with temptations, or troubled in any way, 
he invariably placed himself in Mary's hands : 
holding it for certain that with her merciful as- 
sistance, he would triumph at all times over all 
his spiritual enemies. It Avas really touching to 
hear him in such circumstances, repeating words 
like these : '' O Mary, my mother, you must con- 
cern yourself about this affair " ; and to restore 
peace to his soul he would say simply : " O, 
mamma will attend to it ! " 

Truly, then, did our Gabriel trust in Mary, 
even as a child trusts its mother. The last 
words of Christ on the cross : " Behold thy 
mother ! " were no mere speculation /br him^ be- 
cause he knew that for Mary, the corresponding 
words were a reality : " Behold thy son ! " In 
all his dangers, he ran to her Avith childlike con- 
fidence, nor was he ever disappointed. Amid the 
continual disturbances that raged around our 
retreat at Isola, during the revolutionary temp- 
est of 1861, he writes thus to his good father, 
Signor Possenti : " That sweet Virgin of Sor- 
rows who cannot look without compassion upon 
our misery, keeps us safe enough under her pro- 
tecting mantle ; and the very sw^ords that trans- 
pierce her blessed and most pure heart, she uses 
for our defence." " The passion of Jesus Christ 
and the dolors of Mary," he used to say, " are the 



218 THE LIFE OF YEN. GABKIEL. 

inexhaustible treasures of a good Christian." He 
held for certain the opinion of St. Bernard, that 
all the graces won for us by our Saviour, are dis- 
pensed to mankind through His Blessed Mother. 

But if Mary's dolors were Gabriel's sorrows, 
her joys too, were his joys ; her honor and wor- 
ship, his ambition. " He rejoiced exceedingly," 
sa^^s F. Norbert, " whenever he heard any extra- 
ordinary honor paid to the Madonna, or any re- 
markable grace obtained through her interces- 
sion. On the other hand it made him sad to 
hear that the great Mother of God was forgot- 
ten, that her worship was neglected, and that 
the irreligious were enraged against her. In his 
fervor he composed for himself a long series of 
articles which he styled, " The Madonna's 
Credo " : it is a cento of the teaching of the 
greatest doctors and theologians of the Church : 
it is a crown of praise, in which faith, love and 
confidence shine like a cluster of brilliants. 

So inflamed was his innocent, loyal heart, with 
the love of his Mother and Queen, that not satis- 
fied with loving her himself, he sought every 
possible means to make her known, honored and 
loved by every one else: nothing short of mak- 
ing her clients be as numerous as all mankind, 
would satisfy him. His zeal on this point was so 
honest and so constant, that even from the days 
of his novitiate, he wished to bind himself by a 
formal vow, to promote devotion to the holy 



HIS devotio:n^ to maky. 219 

Mother of God, to the extent of his ability. At 
first his request Avas not granted, for a vow is 
quite a serious thing to undertake ; and a per- 
petual vow may be repented of when it is too 
late. But Gabriel soon proved be3^ond a reason- 
able doubt, the solidity of his devotion, and after 
five years of patient demand and trial, after a 
thousand tokens of affection and zeal, he Avas at 
last permitted in the year 1861, to bind himself 
by vow to be Our Lady's champion for life. 
'' This he did," says his director, " to the unspeak- 
able joy of his heart, and," (he adds) "to the great 
profit of his soul." On her part, the loving 
Mother of men, wishing to testify her acknowl- 
edgment of this extraordinary and generous act, 
rewarded her saintly son with the inestimable 
gift of never thereafter committing the least de- 
liberate imperfection. Thus it was that the 
gracious Sovereign who honored Gabriel with a 
vocation to the religious state among her chosen 
servants, herself crowned the edifice of his per- 
sonal holiness, and raised it to the summit of 
perfection, by the royal favor of being preserved 
from even the least wilful fault. 



220 THE LIFE OF YEN. GABRIEL. 



XXYII. 

OTHER SPECIAL DEVOTIOlSrS. 

The Church of Christ is now divided into 
three parts, the church triurnjyhant in heaven, 
the church suffering in pui'gatory, and the church 
militant on earth. Between these three parts, 
there is an organic unity, with a constant inter- 
communication of merits and prayers. This 
mutual participation we profess to believe, under 
the name of " the communion of saints." 

What is more cheering in this vale of tears, 
than to realize that we are only bodily separated 
from our departed friends, and that we can make 
them feel the sincerity and permanence of our 
affection, by relieving their sufferings, and 
hastening the time of their deliverance, by means 
of our prayers and good works, and above all, 
by the holy sacrifice of the Mass, and the appli- 
cation of indulgences. 

Even as a secular, our young hero was noted 
for his charity toward the faithful departed ; 
and one of his college companions says of him, 
that among the sodalities and confraternities 
that were there established, young Possenti was 
enrolled in such as held out the greatest spiritual 



OTHER SPECIAL DEVOTIONS. 221 

inducements, that he might thereby be able to suc- 
cor tiie souls in purgator}^ the more effectually. 
After entering;- the religious state, lie wrote on 
one occasion only to his aged father for money, 
which he begged him to supply in his name in 
charity for the suffering souls. It seems that he 
had promised in case he would be judged worthy 
of pronouncing his vows, at the end of his year 
of probation, tL.it he Avould ask his father to 
make an offering of ten dollars by way of grati- 
tude to the poor souls, to whom he had specially 
recommended this intention. Then, on the very 
day of his profession, partly to thank them for 
their intercession, and partly to secure their in- 
terest in his final perseverance, he made in their 
favor the " heroic act," by which he made a total 
renunciation of the satisfactory part of all his 
good works, together with a complete resignation 
of all the suffrages to be offered for himself after 
death, putting them all in the hands of the 
Blessed Virgin, the merciful queen of purgatory. 
" Never in my experience," says F. Norbert, '' have 
I known any one so anxious and industrious to 
gain holy indulgences, in order to apply them to 
the faithful departed. Not satisfied, however, 
with what he could personally do, he strove to 
quicken the devotion of others to hasten the de- 
liverance of those prisoners of God's justice. So 
evident was his zeal in this cause, that his reli- 
gious brethren surnamed him 'the Apostle of 



222 THE LIFE OF VEN. GABKIEL. 

Purgatory.' He nobly endeavored to induce all 
Avho came witliin the sphere of his influence, to 
make the ' heroic act,' but we cannot say that 
his efforts were rewarded witli uniform success." 
To some he seemed to be too forgetful of his own 
interests, over-generous, in fact. His reply on 
such occasions was : " Charity which makes re- 
strictions is not the right kind of charity." '' This 
is my commandment," says the Master, "that 
you love one another as I leave loved youy Some- 
times, when he was pleading most fervently, one 
of his fellow-students would half-seriously inter- 
pose : " Confrater, who will think of you f " 
. . . " Of me .^ " . . . he would answer, 
with surprise — '' who will think of me f . . . 
Well, of course, my dear mother Avill. . . . 
And I know the goodness of God will, and the 
holy souls themselves will, too ! " . . . But 
if his faith and devotion were thus exercised b}^ 
communing with the members of the Church 
Suffering, no less scope was afforded by the 
glorious citizens of the Church Triumphant. He 
loved and reverenced all the saints, and it was a 
sweet thought to his enlightened faith, that as a 
child of God, he could choose as many of them 
as he desired, and make them jyersonal friends 
of his 01071 : friends to whom he could confide 
his hopes and fears, and would take a sincere and 
efficacious interest in his vvelfare. 

Naturally, he felt a special attraction for such 



OTHER SPECIAL DEVOTIONS. 223 

saints as had shown a more than ordinary devo- 
tion to the Madonna; and therefore, above all 
others, he cherished a tender devotion to St. 
Joseph. Of this glorious patriarch he spoke with 
admiration, exalting his sanctity, greatness and 
[)ower. He had been particularly impressed by 
the words of St. Teresa, who affirms in the most 
l)ositive manner, and in the broadest terms, that 
she had never asked this saint for any grace or 
favor in vain. Gabriel honored him with touch- 
ing earnestness, to obtain for himself a holy and 
happy death : which grace he undoubtedly ob- 
tained, as we will see further on. In St. Joseph's 
honor, he recited daily prayers, consecrated to 
him the Wednesdaj^ of every week, celebrated 
with extraordinary fervor his three festivals : his 
espousals, his patronage, and his death ; prepar- 
ing for the last feast, on the seven Sundays pre- 
ceding the 19th of March, by various exer- 
cises. Besides this, he never let a favorable oc- 
casion pass by without confessing the feelings of 
his tender heart for the Foster-Father of Jesus 
Christ, and the most pure Spouse of the Immacu- 
late Virgin, whom, moreover, he was wont to call 
by the most endearing names. 

Gabriel had also a filial love toward our father 
and founder, St. Paul of the Cross, who had 
been raised to the honors of the Beatified by 
Pius IX., in 1852. 

His next patron Avas St. Francis of Assisi, the 



224 THE LIFE OF YEN. GABKIEL. 

Saint of the Crucified, tlie seraph of love, the 
herald of evangelical poverty, the chivalrous 
Knight of Our Lady. It will be remembered 
that our holy student first saw the light of day 
in the native city of St. Francis, that he was bap- 
tized at the same font in the Cathedral, was 
known by the same baptismal name : in short 
the spirit of the patriarch of Assisi seemed to 
have been imparted to his young namesake, 
countryman and client. The former, as well as 
the latter, was carried away b}^ his buoyant 
nature, and for a time yielded to the attractions 
of the world ; yet both were saved from defile- 
ment by their love of Christ's poor, and by their 
devotion to Christ's mother ; they both after- 
ward despised and renounced the world for God's 
sake, and consecrated all the ardor of their inno- 
cent hearts to God alone : " Deus mens et 
omnia ! " 

Great, too, w^as Gabriel's devotion toward St. 
Aloysius, with whom he had in common very 
many traits of resemblance : and whom he had 
been first taught to know and love, during his 
college days in Spoleto, under the zealous Jesuit 
fathers. A deep religious gratitude made him 
reverence another Jesuit saint : the blessed 
martyr Andrew Bobola, to whom he acknowl- 
edged the favor of his miraculous cure, when he 
was hesitating between God and the world, his 
father's home and the religious cloister. 



OTHER SPECIAL DEVOTIONS. 225 

Another favorite saint of his Avas Francis de 
Sales, whose meek and humble spirit he so faith- 
fully copied, and whose works were treasured in 
the Possenti household. We have already men- 
tioned his regard for St. Alphonsus, whose 
" Glories of Mary " had been so instrumental in 
wonderfully increasing his love for 3faria San- 
tissivia. 

But for brevity's sake, Ave must finish this enu- 
meration of Gabriel's saintly favorites. Being- 
far more inclined to mental than vocal prayer, 
he contented himself with making a litany of his 
own in honor of all his special patrons, and this 
he faithfully recited every day. He could truly 
say ''our conversation is in heaven," such being 
the familiarity and confidence Avith Avhich he 
treated his holy patrons, and such his practical 
understanding of the ''communion of saints." 



226 THE LIFE OF VE:N^. GABRIEL. 



XXVIII. 

HIS LAST ILLKESS. 

jSTot many years had elapsed since our Gabriel 
had been clothed in the religious habit, and from 
the beginning, his brethren entertained the hope 
that he would be blessed with a long life, both 
for the sake of witnessing his marvelous growth 
in virtue, and that the church might enjoy the 
advantages of his labors for the good of souls ; — 
but God had disposed otherwise. 

Meanwhile, during those short years, his soul 
had grown ripe for heaven, and it became so 
pleasing to the Divine Master, that he prepared 
to take it to Himself. During the last year of 
Gabriel's life, it was not difficult to foresee that 
the evening of his earthly career was rapidh^ 
coming on. He seemed to have had a secret 
presentiment of his approaching end, nor did he 
make any great effort to conceal this feeling: 
rather, he gave expression to his interior joy at 
the summons of death. Even had there been no 
exterior manifestation that the sun of his life 
was slowly setting, it could not have escaped the 
vigilant eye of his spiritual director, that another 
light, the sun of eternal day was fast rising on 



HIS LAST TLLiS^ESS. 22? 

the horizon of his soul : for more than ever, in 
tiiat last year, his soul had fallen under the direct 
influence of the very fountain of light. His in- 
terior was illumined no longer by rays, but by 
streams, or torrents of light, that flooded his 
mind and consumed his heart more and more : 
and hence there sprang up in his soul a longing, 
a thirst for heaven : " As the hart panteth after 
the fountains of water, so doth my soul desire 
after Thee, oh my God : when shall I come, and 
appear before Thy face ? " Reflecting too, on tlie 
danger of offending God, and growing tepid in 
the divine service, Gabriel prayed for the grace 
to die: he even asked for the very malady which 
eventually carried him off, viz, consumption ; and 
for no other reason, than to be able to make acts 
of love until he drew his last breath. F. Nor- 
bert, hearing of this, and fearing to lose so fer- 
vent a disciple, whilst approving of the petition 
in itself, yet directed him to pray under condition 
of its being for God's glory, and the greater ad- 
vantage of his soul. Docile as Gabriel ever was, 
he at once changed his prayer and did as he was 
bidden. 

For the first four years of his religious life, he 
had enjoyed, at least apparently, very good 
health, better indeed than he had had in the 
world as a secular ; for, the regularity of mo- 
nastic life was well calculated to strengthen his 
constitution ; but during the fifth year, he com- 



228 THE LIFE OF YEN. GABRIEL. 

menced to feel an ever-increasing weakness which 
degenerated into unmistakable symptoms of tu- 
bercular consumption. Fervent prayers were 
at once offered by the community, and were re- 
quested from outsiders as well. As was said 
above, Gabriel himself had to join his prayers to 
the heartfelt petitions of his brethren, that he be 
spared, if it were for the greater glory of God 
and his own spiritual welfare. 

From the first clear symptoms of his fatal 
malady, he was exempted from the more burden- 
some exercises of the observance, such as the 
fasts of rule, and rising at midnight for matins ; 
but for awhile the fervent youth gently insisted 
that he was well enough to follow the entire ob- 
servance, for dispensations w^ere to him more 
onerous than the observance itself. 

Despite all the care and attention shown him, 
his malady went on increasing, until at the end of 
the 3^ear 1861, it broke out into a violent hectic 
fever, reducing him to a pitiable state of weak- 
ness that lasted until the middle of February 
of the following year, when his hemorrhages 
began ; and then he was in such a state of ex- 
haustion that the physician advised the last 
sacraments to be given : the poor patient mean- 
while remaining perfectly tranquil as though 
nothing unusual had happened. AVhen he was 
definitively told that there was real danger of 
death, and that he should prepare for the recep- 



HIS LAST ILLNESS. 229 

tion of the Yiaticuiii, his director knew that he 
need not take those precautions which are gen- 
erally resorted to in similar cases, to break the 
unwelcome tidings gently : he therefore made no 
mystery about it, but told him plainly that unless 
a miracle was wrought, he was going to die, and 
that he should make his last preparations at once. 
On hearing this, the servant of God, unaware 
perhaps that he was in such immediate danger, 
showed for an instant on his face a trace of sur- 
prise, but it was followed not merely by resigna- 
tion but joy : nay, his joy was so pronounced that 
his director advised him to moderate it. 

The community had just finished the chant of 
the midnight office, and at the signal of the 
little bell, all repaired to Gabriel's room. He 
requested to be allowed to rise from his couch 
and receive the Viaticum on his knees ; this be- 
ing denied, he begged for permission at least to 
kneel in his bed, but this being also refused, he 
submitted to the will of his superior. As the 
Blessed Sacrament was brought into his room, 
he seemed quite overcome with Christ's grandeur 
and majesty, supremely penetrated with senti- 
ments of faith and devotion, so that those sur- 
rounding his poor bed were affected to tears. 
Before receiving hol}^ communion, he Avho 
had been to all a subject of edification and en- 
couragement in virtue, humbly begged pardon 
of all for whatever bad example he had ever 



230 THE LIFE OP VEK. GABRIEL. 

given : then in tenderness and tears he received 
his Lord with extraordinary devotion. 

Shortly after his communion, F. Norbert being 
alone with his J^oung disciple, was asked by him 
to search the papers of the writing table for a 
small notebook. '' I have recorded," said he, 
" in that little book, all the graces that God has 
bestowed on me through the hands of the Ma- 
donna. I am afraid lest the devil may tempt me 
to vainglory on account of it. Now, Father, 
will you take it away, and never show it to any- 
one ? " The director promised. He went even 
farther, for he said that he would not even look 
at it himself : then leaving the room, the book 
was destroyed : a thing for which F. Norbert 
acknowledged himself very sorry afterward. 
Well may we all regret this irreparable loss, for 
that precious little volume was the record of Ga- 
briel's growth in holiness. 

The community at Isola feared that Gabriel 
would die that very night ; but he reassured them, 
saying that his illness would be prolonged for 
a while ; " but," he rejoined, " if the Lord wishes 
to call me to-night. His will be done ! . . . 
Whatever happens, may the most holy, most 
amiable, most adorable will of God be ever 
done !" 

His presentiment was fully realized, for the 
violence of his fever sensibly abated, and the 
first sudden outbreak was succeeded by a slow 



HIS L7\ST ILLNESS. 231 

decline which ksted nine days: this was re- 
garded as a disposition of divine Providence to 
increase his servant's merits, and to give all an 
opportunity to be further edified by his example. 
His narrow cell became for his brethren a school, 
a university of virtue. Whoever entered there, 
priest, cleric or lay-brother, came forth deeply 
impressed, often bathed in tears : they w^ould all 
gladly have remained there indefinitely, without 
thinking of repose, or anything else. 

His patience w^as admirable and most touch- 
ing. Though he lay for hours motionless upon 
his bed of suffering, without being able to change 
his position, on account of his extreme prostra- 
tion, he never uttered a syllable of complaint, but 
encouraged himself to bear with the inconven- 
iences of his sickness, by recalling to mind the 
agonies of Jesus on tlie cross, and the sorrows of 
the mother standing beneath it. When asked 
occasionally what pain he felt, he would mention 
no other than the weakness and weariness result- 
ing from his monotony of posture ; yet as a mat- 
ter of fact, he had a verj^ high fever which often 
made his mind wander, and then he would un- 
consciously show how" great his sufferings really 
were, by the writhing of his body, and the groans 
that were wrung from him in these paroxysms 
of pain. But he watched most carefully lest he 
should betray how much he suffered, as long as 
he was fully master of himself: he refrained 



232 THE LIFE OF VEK. GABRIEL. 

even from moaning, no matter at what cost to 
himself, in order to spare the feelings of those 
around him, and not to disturb them, however 
slightly. 

Nor was he satisfied with practicing patience : 
in spite of his condition, he found means to ex- 
ercise himself in mortification as well. He took 
with the greatest avidity the most disagree- 
able medicines, but he swallowed them with de- 
liberate slowness in order to mortif)^ his palate, 
and he cheerfully submitted to many things en- 
tailing physical pain, when ordered by the in- 
firmarian, or the attending physician, even when 
he knew full well that they w^ould be of no use 
whatever. "Yet," writes his director, "when I 
happened to be alone with him, he Avould com- 
plain to me of being so immortified, of not hav- 
ing the courage to suffer, and of being wanting 
in virtue. I strove to comfort him by bidding 
him be satisfied with offering up to God what- 
ever he might have to suffer: and I ordered him 
not to hesitate to tell those in the room, when- 
ever he stood in need of anything: that in this 
manner, he could practice both obedience and 
mortification of w^ill, and his companions exer- 
cise fraternal charity." 

More striking however than his patience or his 
mortification, was his cheerfulness. To judge 
from his look of peacefulness, one might have 
concluded that the dear youth was in perfect 



HIS LAST iLL]sn:ss. 233 

health, and his manner was always gracious, al- 
most mirthful. When his visitors would ask 
with evident concern and OTavitv how he was 
feeling, he would smilingly answer : "Just about 
the same, like the blind beggar's story ! '' . . . 
And this light-heartedness proceeded not only 
from his own interior peace, but from his exquis- 
ite charity which made him shrink from being 
in any way burdensome to others. 

AVe need not wonder then, that Gabriers fel- 
low-students vied with each other in charitable 
eagerness to assist their sick brother, both by 
night and day. " They would come," says 
F. Norbert, "to ask me to appoint them to do 
something or other for him. One would com- 
plain that I did not allow him to go to the sick- 
room in his regular turn ; another, that he was 
sent away much too soon, in fact before his reg- 
ular time was fully out! , . . Every one 
would have preferred to remain, were it in their 
power. 

One of his companions asked Gabriel to rec- 
ommend him to the Madonna, for a verj^ special 
intention. Now, this religious had great confi- 
dence in his brother's intercession, and w^hat he 
wanted was to be cured of an ailment that was 
giving him a deal of trouble. Gabriel replied 
simply : " Oh, yes, Confrater, I'll do that." After 
a little while, however, when nobody thought 
anything further about Avhat had passed between 



234 THE LIFE OF YEN. GABRIEL. 

them, suddenly the servant of God turned to his 
companion, and said : " My dear Conf rater, the 
favor you ask for is not according to God's will, 
you know : it is a cross tlia;t you will have to 
carry until death." On hearing this, the reli- 
gious was, as it were, stunned for a while, re- 
garding the whole thing as plainly supernatural, 
since he gave Gabriel no inkling whatsoever of 
what his intention was; but coming to liimself, 
he said: ''Well, may God's will be done! " — As 
a matter of fact, the prediction was verified : the 
ailment continued to trouble him all his life long, 
but encouraging himself by remembering his 
saintly brother's words, he submitted Avith per- 
fect resignation, commending himself anew to 
Gabriel's prayers, after the latter had exchanged 
this world for a throne of glory in heaven. 

AVhen the time came for administering the sac- 
rament of Extreme Unction, Gabriel asked that 
its effects be once more brought to his mind, and 
with fervent sentiments of faith and contrition, 
he disposed himself to receive it. As the fever 
had impaired his hearing, he begged the officiat- 
ing priest to read the prayers in a rather loud 
tone of voice, so that he might understand every- 
thing, and accompany the sacred rite with intel- 
ligent devotion. 

" During the whole course of this illness," says 
his director, " he only continued (but with even 
greater heartiness) what he had been doing all 



HIS LAST ILLNESS. 235 

through his life; that is, uniting his soul with 
God, making frequent aspirations now to Jesus 
in the Blessed Sacrament, now^ to Jesus Crucified, 
as well as to the Motlier of dolors. He used to 
hold his profession-cross in his hand, or he asked 
to have it placed before his eyes : the same he 
did with his little picture of the Addolorata : 
and upon these two objects of his heart's love, he 
frequently pressed his burning lips." During his 
life he used to make his ejaculations interiorly, 
or at most in an undertone, so as not to at- 
tract the attention of others ; but during the 
time of his sickness he uttered them aloud ; he 
even made them in such a strong voice that his 
director had often to chide him for it ; but the 
progress of the malady made him forget the rec- 
ommendation. 

The hour fixed by God's holy will for Gabriel's 
departure from this world, w^as now rapidly ap- 
proaching. His bodily frame, consumed by an 
unconquerable fever, was nearing its dissolution ; 
but the spirit within, more vigorous than ever 
before, seemed to thrill w^ith joy at the prospect 
of deliverance. No more fitting time could have 
been chosen for a Passionist to die, for just then 
the community was celebrating the octave of the 
solemn commemoration of the Passion of Jesus 
Christ. 



236 THE LIFE OF VEN. GABRIEL- 



XXIX. 

HIS HOLY DEATH. 

It was the night of the 26th of February, and 
as the sjanptoms became more serious, Gabriel's 
fellow-students did not leave his bedside even for 
a moment, but his director, perceiving no imme- 
diate danger of death, decided to rest a while, for 
he Avas exhausted with fatigue and loss of sleep. 
Still try as he would, he could not fall asleep : a 
persistent feeling told him that he was deserting 
his post of duty. As to him alone were known 
the secrets of Gabriel's conscience, who else could 
comfort him in case of need ? No longer hesi- 
tating, F. Norbert returned to the sick-room, de- 
termined to watch over his dying child to the 
last. He soon found out that he had been guided 
by the mysterious Providence of God, for, as he 
was sitting in a corner of the room, suddenly he 
heard Conf rater Gabriel say in a loud voice, and 
with much feeling : " Vtdnera tita^ merita mea : 
Thy wounds, O Lord, are my merits ! " '' At 
first," the director tells us, " I did not take great 
account of this, because the patient often recited 
little prayers in a similar tone of voice. But 
soon, he repeated a second and a third time, the 
same words, in a louder and stronger voice. At 



o 
r 

< 

> 

H 

•V 

O 
O 

o 
z 




HIS HOLY DEATH. 237 

once suspecting the cause, and drawing near, I 
asked him confidentially : ' Are 3^ou tempted ? ' 
' Yes, father, I am,' he replied, quite dejectedly. 
. . . ' Is it presumption, or despair ? ' I then 
asked. ' Presumption.' I then helped him by 
suggesting sentiments suited to his needs, and 
sprinkled the room Avith holy water : whereupon 
he became calm ; " but the prudent director con- 
tinued watching and praying. 

Meanwhile, the violence of the fever brought 
on occasional wanderings of mind : but they 
were of such a nature as not completely to de- 
stroy consciousness ; so that recovering himself 
quickly, Gabriel laughed softly to himself, say- 
ing : " I was really wandering then, wasn't I ? " 
— still, even in his delirium, he was always speak- 
ing of holy things. 

Suddenly, the dying youth frowns : he be- 
comes greatly troubled : and tightly shutting his 
eyes, he looks with disgust in another direction. 
This was his second struggle : this time against 
the vile demon of impurity. F. Norbert asks 
what is troubling him ? Gabriel, half angry and 
wholly surprised, answers : " How do women en- 
ter here ? They mustn't be here ; who let them 
in ? O Mary, my mother, chase them away, 
make them go ! " The director at once sprinkled 
the room with holy water, which scattered for 
the nonce the foul spirits of hell : and the patient 
regained his wonted peace. But it did not last 



238 THE LIFE OF VEN. GABRIEL. 

long. The devil hoping to proiit by the weak- 
ness of a dying man, returns cowardly to the as- 
sault, reproducing upon GabrieFs imagination 
the same indecent images. This was his third 
and last combat. No sooner was he aware of 
the nearness of danger, than he showed his aver- 
sion to it. " How could that lady get in here ?" 
he cried. " They are not allowed here. Why 
did you let her in ? Chase her out, right away ! 
O, my mother, my Lady, drive her away ! " — And 
in saying these words, he showed such a loath- 
ing for those indecent suggestions, and did such 
violence to himself, and resisted with such heart- 
iness, that the bystanders knew not what to ad- 
mire most, the firmness of his courage, or his 
purity of heart. 

Thrice had he been exposed to great danger, 
thrice did his cruel enemies close in around his 
poor dying soul, but trusting in his Mother's 
help, and with her name upon his parched lips, 
he completely routed the fiends of hell, and 
passed unscathed through the ordeal. To spare 
themselves further defeat, they troubled him no 
more; and Gabriel enjoyed thenceforward an 
unbroken peace. The remaining hours of the 
night until daybreak, he employed in his wonted 
fervent aspirations to Jesus Crucified, to his 
Blessed Mother, and to the dear St. Joseph. His 
eyes were fixed either on liis crucifix or the pic- 
ture of the Addolorata^ but these exercises were 



HIS HOLY DEATH. 239 

interspersed with many little acts of kindness and 
gratitude, in favor of those who waited on him. 

As the sun was rising on the morning of the 
twenty-seventh of February, Gabriel unexpect- 
edly turned to his spiritual director who was sit- 
ting at his bedside, and joyfully said to him : 
" Father, you might give me absolution, now." 
As there was, however, no change for the worse 
in Gabriel's condition, the director did not think 
fit to accede to the request, but simply replied : 
" My son, it isn't time yet : but I'll attend to it 
myself, when the time does come." Gabriel 
made no reply. He seemed notwithstanding, to 
be well aware of the nearness of death ; that in 
fact, he had only a fcAv minutes more to live. 
So then, after a very short interval, he turned to 
F. Norbert, and said : " I have just made my act 
of contrition : Father, do give me absolution," 
at the same time uncovering his head and join- 
ing his hands. This time F. Norbert absolved 
Jiim, and promised that he would renew the ab- 
solution later on, especially w^hen he was actually 
dying. Gabriel then asked for his little picture 
of Our Lady of Sorrows. An old print from his 
breviary, all soiled with many years of daily use, 
representing Jesus Crucified and the Queen of 
Martyrs, was given him. Taking it eagerly in 
both hands, he pressed it to his lips, bathed it 
with his tears, and covered it with kisses. Then 
addressing Jesus and Mary in terms of the ten- 



240 THE LIFE OF YET^. GABRIEL. 

derest love, he pressed the picture to his heart, as 
though he wished to stamp it there indelibly. 
All in the room were filled with sentiments of 
reverential awe. From time to time, his spirit- 
ual Father suggested some pious thoughts, less in- 
deed to enkindle m him the love of God and Our 
Lady, than to make it burn with a still brighter 
glow. Uncovering his breast, Gabriel put the 
image of those he loved so well over his heart ; 
then crossing his hands, he embraced the picture 
with such earnestness, such loving fervor, such 
tenderness, that no one could have remained un- 
moved; for one could see in the dying youth, 
that his saintly soul was reflected in his radiant 
face. When he had thus put the image of Jesus 
Crucified and the Sorrowful Virgin upon his 
heart, he raised his eyes to heaven with a look of 
eager and joj^ful expectancy, and cried out in an 
animated voice, but with confidence and love 
indescribable : " O my Mother, make haste ! " 
Afterward, he recited calmly the following 
pra3^er separating and emphasizing his words: 

" Maria, Mater gratiae, 
Mater misericordiae, 
Tu nos ab hoste protege, 
Et mortis hora suscipe. 

" Mother of Grace, O Mary blest, 

Sweet mercy's fount, to thee we fly, 

Shield us from harm, and take us hence 

To thy dear bosom, when we die." 



HIS HOLY DEATH. 241 

With the same profound feeling, he recited the 
well-known prayers : 

"Jesus, Mary and Joseph, 1 give you my heart 
and my soul. 

" Jesus, Mary and Joseph, assist me in my last 
agony. 

'' Jesus, Mary and Joseph, may I breathe forth 
my soul in peace Avith you." 

When he had finished those ejaculations, he 
composed himself once more, his eyes closed, his 
hands tightly clasped over the picture pressed to 
his heart. Then we noticed that he was just 
about to die, for his breathing became very per- 
ceptibly slower. The lector had the signal for 
the communitv runo;' at once, and all who were 
not then engaged in celebrating or serving Mass, 
immediately repaired to the sick-room, to assist 
their d^dng brother by their united prayers. 
There was no agony, not even a trace of pain on 
his quiet face ; he was like one about to fall 
asleep. All at once, his face lights up with hap- 
piness and devotion, and opening his eyes with a 
lively transport of joy, he gazes fixedly in mid- 
air toward the left side. lie appears as if face 
to face with some magnificent sight, overpow- 
ered by an awe-inspiring majesty, for which he 
lovingly, longingly sighs, and thus, without the 
least bodily movement, he ceases to breathe and 
joyfully passes out of this life like one softly 
falling asleep. His hands were folded over the 



242 THE LIFE OF YEN. GABRIEL. 

picture of Jesus Crucified and the Mother of Sor- 
rows, his face was wreathed in smiles, and his 
eyes still seeming to drink in that marvelous 
vision. During his holy life Gabriel had often 
expressed his belief that his gracious Mother and 
Queen would surely come to take his soul with 
her to heaven, and it seems that his hope was 
not confounded. " Consumed by the ardor of 
divine love, rather than by the violence of dis- 
ease, comforted and rapt in an ecstasy by the ap- 
parition of his heavenly Mother (whom he loved 
with an immeasurable ajffection) he was sweetly 
received by her ; and laden with merits, left for 
heaven." (Such is the judgment of several prin- 
ces of the Church, as well as of his own spiritual 
director.) ^ 

All the religious were deeply moved, many 
weeping through devotion. One of them would 
not believe that Gabriel was dead ; another struck 
his breast, saying : " So many years am I in the 
service of God, and yet so backward ; while he 
in so short a time became a saint, and has had 
such a beautiful death ! " Others too, gave vent 
to their emotion in divers ways. 

Gabriel Possenti, of Our Lady of Sorrows, died 
on Thursda}^, February 27th, 1862, in our re- 
treat of the Immaculate Virgin at Isola di Gran 
Sasso, Province of Abruzzo, Italy, in the twenty- 

1 Cardinals Parocclii, Di Pietro and Manara. 



HIS HOLY DKATIT. 243 

fourth year of his age, having lived in the con- 
gregation of the Passion a little over five years 
and seven months. 

After his death, the body was clothed in the 
holy habit, his profession-cross was put into his 
hands (which were joined over his breast), he 
was then laid upon a bare board in that same 
poor cell where he breathed his last, his head 
sprinkled with ashes and resting on a few bricks. 
All this was done in accordance with the pre- 
scription of our rule. Toward evening he was 
carried into the church, where on the following 
morning his solemn obsequies took place ; he was 
then privately buried in the vault reserved for 
the religious of the community, near the door of 
the church. 



244_ THE LIFE OF VEN. GABRIEL. 



XXX. 

HIS GROWING FAME. 

No persons are less credulous, no persons ex- 
act more convincing proofs before recognizing 
superior holiness, than those Avho make profes- 
sion of tending toward perfection. Yes, if there 
be a place where it is really difficult to be rated 
as a saint, that place is the monastery, or the 
convent. And vet, such was the eminence of 
sanctity evidenced in Confrater Gabriel's life, 
that although his love of humility made him 
seek to be unknown, he was unanimously ac- 
knowledged as a saint, proposed to all as an 
exemplar, while all were struck with admiration 
at his faultless conduct. His blessed death did 
but increase his fame. " The reputation of the 
servant of God," says F. Norbert, "did not cease 
after his burial : rather, all Avho had known him 
personally, still treasure his memory as of a great 
servant of God. Coupled with this reputation, 
Avas the confidence that he inspired in his power 
with the Most High," for not a few obtaioied 
special and extraordinary favors through his 
mediation. 

But alas! the revolutionary storm which had 



ills GJIOWING lAMK. 245 

broken out in Italy since 1859, and in the midst 
of which Gabriel had expired, was raging still. 
Far from abating its fury, it had but increased 
as the years rolled by. Lombardy, Tuscany, 
Parma, the Marches and the Romagna had suc- 
cessively become the prey of the masonic sects, 
that governed " United Italy " in the name of 
Victor Emmanuel. The usurpers made haste to 
abolish every law and institution distinctively 
Catholic : by the right of might, all ecclesiastical 
property passed into the hands of the state. As 
ever, the valiant sons of Loyola were the first 
victims of the injustice and fury of the revolu- 
tion. They were driven from their peaceful 
homes ; and in their Avake, soon followed the 
other religious orders, both of men and w^omen, 
in the Pontifical domain : henceforth their right 
to live, and their right to the pursuit of happi- 
ness, were shamefully, unjustly and inconsist- 
ently denied in a land, the air of which was then 
ringing with the cry of " Liberty." The Pas- 
sionist monasteries had little to excite the greed 
and envy of the mighty, but they could not be 
tolerated: so the poor retreat, lost in the soli- 
tude of Isola, did not escape : a few religious 
watching and praying Avere too great a menace 
to the stability of the new kingdom of "' redeemed 
Italy." The little community Avas dispersed in 
1863 : the church and monastery remained un- 
tenanted : the sacramental lamp Avas quenched 



246 THE LIFE OF VEN. GABRIEL. 

before the empty tabernacle, and the sacred re- 
mains of the young and saintly Passionist reli- 
gious were left to the care of the protecting 
angels. 

It would have been no wonder if in the midst 
of such unfavorable circumstances, the memor}^ 
of the servant of God were forgotten little by 
little : but the contrary is precisely what came to 
pass. In the nature of things, the life of a Pas- 
sionist student is so hidden in the solitude of t]]e 
retreat, that he is almost completely unknown 
to the outside world. Even in the retreat itself, 
his familiar intercourse is limited to his director, 
lector and a few companions. Yet, after the 
lapse of many years, Gabriel's memory had not 
died out among the simple people of Isola, in 
whose midst he had lived only for a short time 
comparatively, and whose knowledge of him was 
gathered from seeing him about the church on 
feast-days, or from meeting him with his fellow- 
students on their customary walks through the 
country. 

It was however in the bosom of the congre- 
gation, of which he had been such an edifying 
member, that his name was cherished with ever- 
increasing confidence and admiration. The testi- 
mony of F. Francis Xavier, then general of the 
order, will stand for all others ; and we have al- 
ready seen in an earlier chapter, how little in- 
clined he was to exaggeration. " I entertain," 



HIS GROWING FAME. 247 

he says in his deposition, ''a special devotion to- 
Avard the servant of God, because I remember 
with admiration his many virtues: and often too, 
do I recommend myself to his intercession, for I 
have always looked upon him as a saint. After 
his death, his reputation for sanctity not onl}^ re- 
mained undiminished, but it has been increasing 
and spreading, both among our own religious, as 
well as among outsiders." As time went on, 
there grew in the hearts of all a desire to see 
our beloved brother raised to the honors of the 
altar; and thus it came to pass in 1891, that the 
superiors of the congregation after mature de- 
liberation, resolved that the necessary steps be 
taken for his beatification and canonization. 
Toward the autumn of 1892, a delegation repre- 
senting the Bishop of Penne, (in whose diocese 
Isola di Gran Sasso is situated), was sent privately 
to examine Gabriel's place of burial and the con- 
dition of his remains. But on arriving at the 
poor deserted church, the commissioners found 
that some hundreds of persons from the sur- 
rounding district had already gathered there, 
determined to resist w4th all their strength any 
attempt to remove the relics of the servant of 
God. Who had told them of a project, every 
step of which was conducted with prudent 
secrecy ? But the attendance of the people was 
vastl}^ greater on the morrow the 18th of Oc- 
tober, when the delegates of the episcopal curia 



248 THE LIFE OF VEIS^. GABEIEL. 

set out to make the formal recognition and au- 
thentication of the remains of the servant of 
God, and prepare them for removal to, an- 
other retreat. The postulator of the cause, F. 
Germanus, gives us a graphic recital of what then 
transpired. The day and hour had been kept 
a secret, nor did any one outside of the commis- 
sion know what was going to be done. Yet no 
sooner had the committee started from the town 
of Isola, and commenced the journey to the deso- 
late church of the Passionists, than a strange 
sight obtruded itself upon their notice. All the 
paths leading to the old monastery were covered 
with people. Although it was a week-day, and 
the busiest part of the vintage, from all the sur- 
rounding villages the people flocked to the 
church, singing devout hymns as they hastened 
on their way. When the delegates reached the 
hill, they found it covered with about four 
thousand people, men and women, old and young, 
all attired in their gayest, as if they had been 
urgently entreated to attend some solemn cere- 
monial. What brought them there ? Compara- 
tively few had known Conf rater Gabriel person- 
ally, (for it was now thirty years after his holy 
death,) and perhaps the majority of those who 
were there present had but seldom if ever heard 
even of his name. Who can explain it, save by 
an instinct of divine Providence, that secretly 
and suddenly moved the hearts of those simple 



HIS GKOWIKG FAME. 249 

Christian folk ? How explain their reluctance, 
nay their positive unwillingness to allow the mortal 
remains of God's faithful servant to be removed ? 

The church was packed with people, and they 
obstinately refused to leave the sacred precincts. 
" We have come here to see to our own affair," 
said they, " and we will not depart, till we make 
sure that no one will take away from us the 
relics of ' the holy religious ' .^ " 

The delegates, therefore, made up their minds 
to leave the remains where they were, and had 
perforce to be satisfied with authenticating them, 
and placing them in a more suitable tomb. In 
order to empty the church, so as to ^llow the 
necessary formalities to be carried out according 
to law, the following expedient was resorted to. 
A few of the principal inhabitants of each village 
were chosen to represent the rest, and thus, be- 
fore a gathering of two or three hundred per- 
sons, the canonical requirements began. On en- 
tering the burial-vault, nothing but the bones of 
Conf rater Gabriel were found, the flesh having 
been entirely consumed : even of the clothes, 
nothing remained but the leathern girdle and 
the " sign " which is worn over the heart. Two 
experienced physicians arranged the bones in 
their natural position, on a white linen cloth ; 
then they were enclosed in a double casket, 
which Avas sealed with the episcopal seal. After 
this, the church-doors were opened, and the 



250 THE LIFE OF VEl^. GABRIEL. 

crowd which had patiently waited for several 
hours surged round the casket, covering it with 
kisses and tears : some put w^reaths and flowers 
upon Gabriel's coffin, and preserved them after- 
ward as precious souvenirs. " Verily, God had 
spoken to the hearts of His people," writes F. 
Germanus, "and it w^as He who had moved them 
to such singular piety and devotion." Not less 
marvelous was the orderliness of such a large 
crowd, for though densely packed in a small 
church, though the enthusiasm of their religious 
sentiments ran high, there was neither noise nor 
any unseemly behavior : not a w^ord or action 
unbecoming a place of divine worship. 

On the following day, October 18th, in the 
presence of the same faithful people, the casket 
was carried to the chapel of St. Paul of the Cross, 
and was laid in a specially prepared sepulchre on 
the epistle side. Shortly afterward a mortuary 
slab was erected with the following inscription: 

CORPUS SERVI DEI GABRIELIS A VIRGINE 

DOLOROSA CONGREGATIONIS PASSIONIS D. N. J. C, 

CLERICI PROFESSI HEIC DEPOSITUM 

XV KAL. NOV. MDCCOXCII. 

ANNIS AB OBITU XXX. 

The body of the servant of God, Gabriel of our 
Lady of Sorrows, Professed Cleric of the Con- 
gregation of the Passion of Jesus Christ, was de- 
posited in this place, October 18th, 1892, thirty 
years after his death. 




NEW TOMB OP VEN. GABRIEL. 



OUR LATEST WONDER-WORKER. 251 



XXXI. 

OUR LATEST WONDER-WORKER. 

The 17th of October, when the official recog- 
nition of the remains of the servant of God took 
place, was an ideal autumn day amid the Abruzzi 
hills. The Italian blue of the sky was like the 
mantle of the Madonna stretched in its unde- 
scribable beauty : not a breeze to carry far and 
near the perfume of the vineyards : when, toward 
noon, whilst the sacred ceremonies were going 
on in the church, and precisely at the very mo- 
ment when the relics of the servant of God Avere 
being extracted from their first resting-place, a 
tiny cloud coming from the summit of the Gran 
Sasso swiftly moved toward the church, then stop- 
ping and spreading, it inundated the sacred pre- 
cincts with a flood of rain, while not a drop fell 
outside of the monastery grounds. — A presage this 
from heaven, that the bones of Conf rater Gabriel 
would be a source of blessing and graces, in favor 
of mankind. Such an inference is plainly war- 
ranted by the authentic list of cures, which from 
that very day have made Isola one of the most 
frequented of modern shrines, and has elevated 
our dear Gabriel to the dignity of being popu- 
larly considered 'Hhe modern Thaumaturgus." 



252 THE LIFE OF YBN, GABllIEL. 

It is not our intention to forestall the solemn 
judgment of the church, to whom alone it belongs 
to pronounce sentence in matters concerning the 
supernatural order : we will only narrate as hu- 
man, historical facts, what has been seen with the 
eyes, and as it were, touched with the hands, in 
many parts of Italy, and even in distant lands, for 
the past four years. While kneeling at Gabriel's 
tomb, or by using his relics, even by devoutly 
applying the dust gathered from his grave, the 
blind see, the dumb speak, the deaf hear, the 
cripples, the paralytics, and those afflicted with 
the most serious maladies, (some of whom were 
on their deathbed,) have instantaneously recov- 
ered their health, by invoking his name. Thus 
wrote F. Germanus in 1896. Up to that time, 
three hundred and eighty prodigies were re- 
corded, but God alone knows the exact number 
of favors conferred, for many good people con- 
tent themselves with offering thanks at Gabriel's 
tomb, and depart rejoicing on their way, without 
making themselves known. 

For the honor of God and His chosen servant, 
we will now narrate a few well authenticated 
cases. 

Mary Mazzarella, aged twenty, lived with 
her parents in the village of Isola. For nearly 
three years she had been suffering with serious 
complications affecting her lungs, stomach and 
spine, with constant daily fever and headache. 



OUR LATEST WOXDKK-WOllKER. 253 

At first there seemed to be question only of gas- 
tralgia, or neuralgia of the stomach, but clear 
symptoms soon made it evident that acute tuber- 
cular phthisis or consumption had set in. Three 
hemorrhages ensued. Gradually losing all appe- 
tite, the physician allowed her to take anything 
she might fancy, but her daily food hardly 
amounted to two or three spoonfuls of the pottage 
prepared for the family. Her condition steadily 
became worse. In January, 1892, she experienced 
great pains all through her body, and six ulcerous 
wounds broke out. These wounds went on en- 
larging, and prevented her from resting either by 
day or night. From five of the wounds putrid 
matter was discharged. She became so weak that 
she could not stand on her feet, and was unable to 
bear the light. The summer heat inconvenienced 
her greatly, so that she could hardly breathe ; 
then, loss of sleep joined with the constant op- 
pression on her chest so affected her voice, that 
she could speak only with difficulty. The reme- 
dies that were prescribed were of no avail, and 
she lost all confidence in medicine. In August 
she was persuaded to alloAv Dr. Tattoni to at- 
tend her. After a careful examination, he de- 
clared the case hopeless. Finally she turned to 
heaven for her cure, and with all the confidence 
and tenderness of a loving child, besought her 
Blessed Mother to help her. Now it happened 
that one day in October, having fallen asleep, 



254 THE LIFE OF VEI^. GABRIEL. 

she saw a beautiful lady with a child in her arms, 
and was told to go and pray at the tomb of the 
holy young Passionist at the monastery, and use 
some of his relics, assuring her that she would be 
cured. At the request of her uncle, F. Germanus 
went to see her. 

This is what he says : '' When first I saw her, I 
was seized with horror. She seemed to me like a 
corpse, the only sign of life being a slow and pain- 
ful breathing. Propped up with pillows, she was 
lying motionless, tormented with six large, puru- 
lent ulcers that gave her no rest either by day or 
night. It was then three months since she had 
taken food, and I remember saying on that occa- 
sion that, if the Blessed Virgin cured her, it would 
be a miracle like the resurrection of Lazarus." 
This visit took place two days after the ceremo- 
nies described in the preceding chapter. F. Ger- 
manus did not give credence to the story of her 
vision, saying that we ought not to tempt God ; 
nor should the patient be put to the discomfort 
of being brought up to the church ; in fact, he 
said that such a journey might even hasten her 
death, and that if the Blessed Virgin was willing 
to obtain for her the grace of being cured, she 
Avould do it without the journey at all. " F. Ger- 
manus came to see me on October 20th," the 
girl herself informs us. " He hung about my 
neck a crucifix belonging to Conf rater (val)riel, 
the servant of God, and he put on me also the 



OUR LATKST AVONDKK-WORKEIl. 255 

leathern girdle which was taken out of his grave. 
The Passionist father greatly comforted me, ex- 
horting me to have confidence in the intercession 
of this holy religious. He told me to make a 
vow to go barefoot to the monastery church, in 
case the favor would be granted, assuring me 
that after three days of prayer made with my 
heart rather than my lips, I would obtain my 
cure. 

"Meanwhile the malady did not abate, but I 
recommended mvself the best I could to Confra- 
ter Gabriel. The triduum was to finish on Sun- 
day, October 23d. Saturday evening I felt very, 
very sick, and my people at home were more 
than usually downcast, for when they carried me 
to my room, they had great trouble in undress- 
ing me, and getting me ready for bed." So far 
poor Mary's account. We learn from other 
sources, that their anxiety was even greater that 
night than she imagined. Iler mother, who had 
no longer any hope of her daughter's cure, as a 
result of the triduum, and fearing besides that 
the girdle might inconvenience her, was about to 
take it away from her child ; but Mary objected, 
remarking that the whole night was still want- 
ing to complete the prescribed three days. 

" Toward the first dawn of the following day, 
Sunday," (to resume Mary's own narrative) " I told 
my sister to recite the litany, and to join me in 
praying to the servant of God. While I was 



256 THE LIFE OF VEK. GABRIEL. 

saying the litany, there came upon me a quiet 
sleep, such as I had not had for a long time. 
After avv^hile I awoive full of joy, feeling that I 
was cured, — completely cured. My strength had 
returned, the sores had closed, and one of them 
(which was very large and was about to open) 
disappeared altogether. Filled with delight 1 
said to my sister, ' get up ! I am cured ! Con- 
f rater Gabriel has done the miracle for me ! ' 
For w^ell-nigh eight months I had been unable 
to wait upon myself : my people had to assist 
me in everything. Now, that morning, I got up 
at once, dressed myself in haste, and went down 
to the kitchen. My sister would not believe her 
eyes: she kept by my side, afraid lest it all 
might be a delusion, somehow or other. But I 
went downstairs and stood before my parents 
and the servant-maid, who were all in the 
kitchen. My mother was astounded when she 
saw me, but I said to her : ' Mamma, don't be 
afraid : Confrater Gabriel has performed the 
miracle for me,' and to reassure my poor mother 
all the more, I took the baby from her arms into 
mine." 

Now it happened that the feast-day of Isola 
was celebrated on that Sunday, and there was in 
the village an extraordinary concourse of stran- 
gers. Mary's father, beside himself with emo- 
tion, ran out of the house, weeping. The neigh- 
bors crowded around, thinking that his daughter 



OUR LATEST WONDER-WORKER. 257 

had just died ; and lo I there was Mary among 
them, sound and happy : all were deeply moved^ 
and wept for joy. That same morning, Mary 
went to the parish church with her parents, 
heard Mass and received holy Communion. The 
next day she w^ent to the sanctuary of Our Lady 
of Favors outside of the village ; and on the fol- 
lowing Tuesday, that is on October 25th, two days 
after her cure, together with all her family, all 
barefoot like herself, and accompanied by the 
whole population of Isola, she w^ent to fulfil her 
vow at the tomb of God's servant. She walked 
all the way, going and returning, a distance of 
about five miles, and has enjoyed perfect health 
ever since. This cure has been attested by the 
sworn statements of Mary herself, her parents. 
Father Ciaverelli, and the two physicians. Dr. 
Tauri, and Dr. Rossi, and several others. 

No. 2. Deafness cured. — In consequence of a 
serious attack of typhoid fever, Egidius Guag- 
nozzi of Castiglione della Valle, aged sixty-two, 
was utterly dea^f, so that he could not even hear 
the ringing of the church bells. Medical author- 
ities teach that when deafness results from such 
diseases, it is of a very serious nature, and can 
hardly ever be cured. 

Poor Egidius was given up by the doctors, and 
had no hope himself of being cured, when sud- 
denly the thought came to him of praying to the 
servant of God. He went to the monastery 



258 THE LIFE OF YEN. GABUIEL. 

church, prayed at Gabriel's tomb, put some of 
the miraculous dust in his ears, and instantly re- 
covered -his hearing perfectly. 

No. 3. Blindness cured.- — Rose Corini, aged 
forty, of Nereto, without any previous sickness, 
suddenly lost the sight of both eyes, by amauro- 
sis, or paralysis of the optic nerves. AVith her 
eyes wide open, she could fix them upon the sun 
without the least impression being made upon 
them. The local physicians after treating her in 
vain, remanded her to the clinical institute of 
Bologna, there to undergo a surgical operation. 
She however paid little heed to the recommenda- 
tion, and continued to lament her misfortune. 

Being in this condition of mind, the servant 
of God (whom she had never seen before), ap- 
peared to her in a dream, and invited her to pay 
him a visit in the monastery church at Isola. 
When she awoke, she at once resolved to go, and 
set out with her husband, being encouraged by 
the doctors to make the pilgrimage. When near 
the hill on which the church stands, she heard a 
number of voices singing pious hymns, (it was a 
procession on its way to the church), whereupon 
the poor woman said in a spirit of faith : " Well, 
I am blind now, but on my return, I will be able 
to see." She was led by the hand to the church, 
and when she arrived at the tomb, she knelt 
down praying with copious tears. Then having 
touched the tomb with a handkerchief she ap- 



OUR LATEST WONDER- WOHKEK. 251) 

plied it to her face, merely asking to be able to 
see with one eye. The church was filled with 
people devoutly engaged in prayer : all at once, 
the silence was broken with cries of joy : for at 
that moment Rose had opened her left eye, and 
was able to see perfectly, and the very first thing 
she saw was Gabriel's picture on the monument. 
She at once recognized in him the young reli- 
gious, who had appeared to her at home. 

Now, there was an innkeeper at Montorio, in 
whose house Rose and her husband had stopped 
on their way to Isola. This incredulous man had 
remarked that he would indeed believe in the 
miracles, which were attributed to Gabriel's in- 
tercession, if this w^oman returned healed. Great 
then was his surprise when his guest came back 
cured on the following evening. 

A first favor emboldens one to ask for another. 
Rose began, soon after her return, to pray for 
the recovery of her right eye also. She applied 
to it one of Gabriel's relics, and by the mercy of 
God, her petition was granted. 

No. 4. Lucy Callisti was suffering from ker- 
atitis or inflammation of the cornea of the right 
eye ; but while under the treatment of Dr. Pe- 
trilli, an experienced surgeon, the ailment ex- 
tended also to her left eye, thus completely de- 
priving her of sight. Her friends and neighbors, 
touched by such a misfortune in a girl of sixteen, 
suggested to her mother that Lucy should have 



260 THE LIFE OF YEN. GABRIEL. 

recourse to the intercession of Confrater Gabriel. 
The maiden was brought twice to the tomb of the 
servant of God, and after the second time, she 
went home completely cured. 

The attending physician states that this dis- 
ease is of so serious a character, that even suj)- 
posing the possibility of a perfect cure, this could 
not occur except graduallj^, and after a long 
time. 

No. 5. Francis di Bernardo, of Bisenti, had 
accidentally contracted the horrible disease called 
cancerous syphilis. For thirteen months he lay 
on a bed of agony ; exhausted, covered all over 
with sores like a leper, he was truly a loathsome 
and pitiable sight. Given up by the physicians, 
Bernard sought the help of the servant of God, 
and while invoking his intercession with confi- 
dence, he made use of a little of the dust from 
Gabriel's grave. Immediately he felt strength 
and vigor returning to his afflicted body, rose 
from his bed, and walked about without diffi- 
culty. He continued his novena of prayers, and 
on the eighth day, all his sores were closed and 
perfectly healed. 

No. 6. Francis Marcantonio, of Morgia, aged 
twenty-two, was suffering from splenitis or in- 
flammation of the spleen. His internal organs 
were likewise diseased, and he was enormously 
swollen by dropsy. Unable to find relief from 
doctors, he went to Gabriel's tomb, made an ap- 



OUR LATEST WONDEK-VVORKER. 261 

plication of some of the miraculous dust, and was 
completely cured during the night of February 
12th, 1893, in the house of Bernard Castelli, 
wliere he was lodging. 

No. 7. In the neighborhood of Ascoli Piceno, 
a certain woman was afflicted with a grievous 
cancer. She washed the diseased parts once 
with water, in which she had mixed some of the 
w^onderful dust, and the cancer was healed. In 
the register kept at Isola, there is a long list of 
similar cures of every kind of cancer. 

No. 8. In 1897, A^iolanta Moretti, of Rome, 
had been suffering from inflammation of the 
lungs of such a serious character, that she was 
given up by the doctors. She was actually in 
her last agony, and the attending priest was re- 
citing the prayers for the dying. Josephine 
Alessandrini, a pious lady, then came into the 
room, and gave her dying friend some of the 
miraculous dust. No sooner did the patient take 
it, than she was instantly restored to perfect 
health. 

No. 9. One evening in June, 1893, there came 
from Acquasanta to the retreat of Isola, a cripple 
named Anthony Mancini, who for many years 
had lost the use of his limbs in consequence of 
an obstinate arthritis. As the disease had crip- 
pled him in a frightful manner, the physicians 
attempted to straighten him, by breaking the 
joints of his thighs and knees ; but this only 



262 THE LIFE OF VEIST. GABRIEL. 

completed his ruin, and deprived him of all hope 
of ever being able to take another step. Be- 
sides, the poor man was wasting away through 
muscular atrophy, so that he could no longer 
move his body, and was forced to spend his days 
seated in an armchair, from w^hich he had to be 
lifted into bed at night. 

Seated thus, and even bound in his chair, (lest 
the motion of the wagon should throw him off), 
he arrived after a long journey at the Passionist 
church. All who saw him were touched with deep 
compassion, and as he was moved from the wagon 
and carried to the tomb of the servant of God, 
many joined with him in prayer, asking his cure 
from God. During the night he Avas given lodg- 
ings in the abandoned retreat, and the next morn- 
ing he was brought in his armchair into the 
church, to Gabriel's sepulchre. The parish priest 
of Isola having heard his confession and given 
him communion, the poor man continued his 
prayers to the servant of God. All at once, in the 
sight of all the people, Anthony rose from his chair 
cured, exclaiming : " Gabriel, the servant of God, 
has granted me the favor ! " Leaving his chair be- 
hind him in the church, he got into his wagon 
unassisted, and joyfully turned his face home- 
ward, blessing God. The people of the villages 
and towns through which he had passed on his 
way to Isola, and who had seen him in so pitiful 
a state, were now speechless with surprise on be- 



OUR LATEST WONDER-WORKER. 263 

holding him hale and hearty, and every now and 
then he had to stop and satisfy their wonder and 
curiosity. 

No. 10. Not less extraordinary was the case 
of Cajetan Mariani, of Amatrice. In consequence 
of a stroke of apoplexy, he was paralyzed for 
twelve years in his whole body, so that he could 
barely drag himself around with the help of a 
cane. He was seventy-one years old, and enter- 
tained no hopes of being cured : still less did he 
think of praying, for he had lived estranged from 
his God for a long time. One day, by some un- 
accountable impulse, he desired to go to Isola. 
As he entered the monastery church, he saw a 
priest hearing confessions, and asked to be heard 
himself. The bystanders were greatly astonished 
at this, because they knew him well : greater still 
was their wonder, when they saw the old man mak- 
ing his confession with an abundance of tears. "^ A 
few days later," continues the priest, to whom we 
are indebted for these facts, " as I returned to the 
church, the man came up to me quite joyful, his 
eyes moistened with tears and said, ' Oh Father, 
this dear servant of God obtained three great 
graces for me ; he touched my heart and brought 
me back to my God. I have prayed, and felt 
myself cured all at once of my paralysis, so that 
I am well and can walk about with ease, you 
see ; besides, I was afflicted for many years with 
a rupture : this too has disappeared this very 



264 THE LIFE OF VEIN^. GABRIEL. 

hour ! What shall 1 do to show iny gratitude to 
God for so many blessings ? ' " 

Whatever the enticing advertisements in our 
daily papers and circulating pamphlets, medical 
science tells us that the radical cure of rupture 
(hernia) is seldom accomplished except by opera- 
tive surgery ; and not a single instance has ever 
been recorded, of an instantaneous cure of hernia. 
Now we read in the processes, that Gabriel has 
declared himself by facts to be the special pro- 
tector of the ruptured ; and in 1897, we find on 
the register, about ninety cases of complete and 
instantaneous cure. 

No. 11. It is not often that we find a person 
looking upon a severe physical discomfort as a 
blessing, or considering it a thing to be prayed 
for. The subjoined case is an exception to the 
general rule, and will explain itself. 

A young Sicilian was drafted into the Italian 
army just before the late African campaign. 
Sicilians, as a rule, are not overanxious to leave 
their country, and let themselves be massacred 
for the glory of '' unified Italy " into which they 
are incorporated to their disgust ; but this young 
man felt particularly averse to running such a 
risk. He therefore besought Gabriel to come to 
his assistance, and on the very day when he was 
to present himself for the physical examination, 
there suddenly broke out a rupture of such 
gravity, that the poor conscript was declared 



OUR LATEST WOIS^DER-WOIIKER. 265 

permanently unfit for military service, and was 
discharged. But no sooner had he reached home, 
than every vestige of hernia disappeared, and he 
has since cojitinued as sound and healthy as he 
had been before. 

No. 12. The son of a druggist in Teramo had 
fallen sick so dangerously, that no remedy would 
avail, and he was at death's door. Already were 
the necessarie2 Tor the funeral being prepared, 
when the boy's parents bethought themselves of 
the recent miraculous recovery of a daughter of 
the military commander of the district, which 
wonderful cure had caused quite a sensation in 
the city. " Why," said they, " since that saint has 
so kindly shown favor to the girl's father, w^hy 
shouldn't we trust that he will be equally kind 
to us ? " So they prayed with great faith, and im- 
mediately their son was cured. 

It may appear strange to some of our readers, 
that the boy's coffin w^as being made whilst he 
w^as still alive : but this practice is quite general 
in the remote mountainous province of the 
Abruzzi. No sooner does it become evident that 
one is in imminent danger of death, tl^an a richly 
adorned casket is prepared ; then, if by some 
supernatural intervention, the dying person is 
spared, the casket is carried to the sanctuary of 
the saint to whom they were indebted for the 
miraculous cure, and is left there as an ex-voto of 



266 THE LIFE OF VEK. GABRIEL. 

gratitude and devotion. There are several of 
these caskets at Isola di Gran Sasso. 

No. 13, It must indeed have been a touching 
spectacle, as an eyewitness relates, when one day 
there came down from the mountains, a little 
procession of persons, in the midst of whom Avas 
a figure all clothed in white. This was a twelve- 
3^ear old boy, who with his father, mother, 
brothers and sisters, had come from a distance of 
thirty-six miles over a very rough road, all walk- 
ing barefoot the whole way, and the dear little 
fellow carrying upon his head, the coffin in which 
he was about to be carried to the grave, had not 
Gabriel hastened to his assistance. 

No. 14. Anthony di Egidio of Capsano, a 
little bo}^ of nine, had for a long time been to- 
tally blind as the result of a serious sickness. 
Several remedies had been tried, in spite of which 
the patient w^as steadily growing worse, and be- 
came subject to violent spasms. His mother was 
inspired to ask of heaven what she despaired of 
obtaining from earthly aid : so she led her child 
to the tomb of Gabriel at Isola. There, as little 
Anthony was praying with tears and sobs, he 
was overtaken and overcome by sleep, and lay 
stretched out on the marble slab of the grave, 
surrounded by a large concourse of people. 
When he awoke, ... he opened his eyes, 
. . . and saw perfectly. The veil which had 
covered the pupils and iris of both eyes was gone, 



OtJR LATEST WOXDER-WOllKER. 207 

the inflammation disappeared, tiie pain had 
ceased. Since that time he has not been troubled 
with any recurrence of his former aihnent. 

No. 15. Joseph Marv Albani, a young reli- 
gious of the Order of the Servites of Mary, in 
the Convent of Saluzzo, was afflicted with pul- 
monary hemorrhages. The blood flowed frorii 
his mouth so frequenth^ and in such a quantity, 
that all remedies proved useless, and it was 
feared that he could not live long. By the ad- 
vice of his physicians, who thought he might be 
benefited by a change of air, he was sent from 
Saluzzo to Rome, without however feeling any 
sensible improvement. In fact the young man 
was slowly wasting away, having lost all 
strength, appetite and sleep, and was quite 
unable to apply himself to any mental work. 
" When I visited him in Rome during the first 
days of April, 1893," writes F. Germanus, "I was 
moved with compassion. He seemed to be in 
the last stages of consumption, and was much 
reduced and exhausted. I advised him to rec- 
ommend himself to Con f rater Gabriel, and re- 
lated to him several prodigies, which had lately 
occurred through his intercession. I gave him a 
picture of the servant of God, and a relic of his 
garments, which he applied with faith. Shortly 
afterward, he wrote to me from Naples, whither 
he had been sent, and said : ' I have made a no- 
vena in honor of your dear little saint. From the 



268 THE LIFE OF VEN. GABRIEL. 

day I placed upon myself the image and relic, I 
have had no hemorrhages, and at present I feel 
perfectly cured. My appetite has returned, I 
have recovered my strength, and I am now able 
to apply to work better than before I got sick. 
I always carry about with me the picture of the 
servant of God, nor will I ever part with it.' 

" In a sul)sequent letter, he says : ' It is now 
more than four months since I was cured, and I 
have not suffered from any return of my former 
disease. Your saint obtained that grace for me 
from the Blessed Virgin : I will show myself 
grateful to him, as long as I live.' " 

No. 16. Sister Concetta of St. Michael, a reli- 
gious of the convent of Capuchin Nuns at Santa 
Fiora in Tuscany, Avas wasting away from an 
ulcer in her stomach, which for five years had 
been extending, and was accompanied with all 
the painful phenomena usual in such cases. All 
human remedies had been resorted to unavail- 
ingly, and the attending physician himself de- 
spaired of giving relief. Yet, being a man of 
faith, after advising his patient to receive the 
last sacraments, he suggested that recourse be 
had to Conf rater Gabriel, of whom he had heard 
so many wonders. A no vena was made in con- 
sequence, b}^ the whole community ; and on its 
termination, a second one was commenced, all 
praying with the greatest confidence, except the 
poor patient herself, who instead of getting bet- 



OUR LATEST WONDER-WORKER. 269 

ter, steadily became worse : in fact, at the end 
of the second novena, her misery seemed to have 
reached its climax. She was disheartened and 
prayed with coldness. 

"Xow," she relates herself, "just a little after 
midnight of the day, when the community com- 
menced a third novena, (I know not whether I 
was awake or asleep) I heard some one calling me 
by name, in the sweetest voice I ever heard. In- 
stantly the entire cell was filled with light, and 
in the midst of a bright globe I saw a most beau- 
tiful young man attired in black and wearing a 
surplice of dazzling whiteness. His face was far 
brighter and more radiant than the glory that 
encircled him. He drew near to my poor little 
bed, and I said : ' O good dear little Gabriel, 
won't you speak to me ? ' He answered : ' Are 
not you going to ask me for something ? - ' Yes,' I 
said, 'give me what Mother Abbess wants me to 
have : cure me ! ' Then he touched me, and I 
was at once free from all pain. I thought I 
was in heaven both in soul and body, so great 
was the consolation I felt : I could not believe 
myself : ' Am I dreaming ? ' said I, as I sat up in 
bed, ' or what's the matter with me ? ' I am 
cured ! And so indeed, it was. All this while, 
the servant of God was slowly withdrawing 
from the room, leaving me immersed in consola- 
tion." 

We have hitherto considered some miracles of 



270 THE LIFE OE VEX. GABRIEL. 

God's mercy wrought in favor of Confrater Ga- 
briel's clients ; let us now bring this chapter to a 
close by narrating two miracles of God's justice 
avenging the honor of his servant attacked by 
impious men. 

No. 17. In the province of Teramo there 
lived a man notorious for his bad life, and es- 
pecially for his detestable habit of blaspheming. 
He was employed by a well-to-do family as 
driver, and it often devolved upon him to con- 
vey people to the tomb of the saintly young reli- 
gious. Now, it happened one day, when he felt 
more than usually tired of these errands, that he 
flew into a passion, and began to utter all kinds 
of villainy against the servant of God, and all 
who believed in his miracles. But soon after 
this storm of profanity had passed away, he felt 
himself seized by an invisible hand, and thrown 
from his carriage to the ground, just as one 
would throw down something that he wished 
to dash to pieces. The man's horse ran off in a 
great fright, and it seemed as if both beast and 
vehicle would be utterly destroyed : but nothing 
of the kind happened : it was the driver alone 
who was injured. This poor man was picked up 
from the ground where he lay like one dead, all 
bruised and bleeding, particularly about his 
head. As God would have it, he regained con- 
sciousness and even recovered from the effects of 
his fall, but not completely. Day and night he 



OUR LATEST WOXDER-WORKER. 271 

continued to suffer in his head agonizing spasms 
of pain, that could not be mitigated : and he ac- 
knowledged himself, that had his torment lasted 
much longer, he would have taken his own life. 

But God was willing to show him mercy, and 
cure him in soul as well as in body. Eepenting 
of his fault, he repaired to the monastery church, 
and there with many tears besought God and his 
servant to pardon his blasphemies, promising to 
change his life. That very moment all his pain 
ceased, nor has it ever returned since. Andrew 
(for such is his name) has kept his promise, and 
mended his waj^s. 

No. 18. A saloon-keeper of Campli, obsti- 
nately persisted in ridiculing the many cures 
that happened in that neighborhood, in favor of 
such as had recommended themselves to Con- 
frater Gabriel. 

One day, urged on more than usual by the 
spirit of blasphemy, he went so far as to ridicule 
the servant of God himself with unbecoming 
jokes that scandalized all who heard him. In- 
stanth^, he lost his power of speech, being struck 
dumb ; and what is worse, he has perversely re- 
mained in this unfortunate state ever since. 



272 THE LIFE OF Y^IS. GABKIEL. 



XXXII. 

WHAT GABRIEL HAS DOISTE FOR ISOLA. 

" The poor church of the retreat at Isola will 
be one of the most illustrious sanctuaries of 
Italy," — thus wrote F. Norbert on January 1st, 
1893, less than three months after the mortal re- 
mains of Gabriel Possenti had been brought to 
light ; and surely the singular devotion that has 
since been seen about his tomb, and the number 
and character of the prodigies wrought there, 
bid fair to give the above assertion some sem- 
blance of prophecy. 

When this saintly youth was still living upon 
earth, he seemed to be like a magnet, sweetly 
drawing to himself the hearts not only of his 
brethren in religion, but even of outsiders. All 
who came within the magic circle of his influ- 
ence, realized that " his conversation had no bit- 
terness, nor his company any tediousness, but joy 
and gladness " : and this is now being daily re- 
new^ed since the translation of his relics, and is 
perhaps the most remarkable of all the wonders 
wrought. Three years ago his name was almost 
forgotten ; his body was interred in a common 
vault, in an abandoned monastery hidden away 



WHAT GABRIEL HAS DONE FOR ISOLA. 273 

in the hills of the Abruzzi ; now, it is echoed far 
and wide, it is on the lips and in the hearts not 
only of the common people, but of the princes of 
the church as well. 

By reason of the persecution of the church in 
Italy, many of its inhabitants have remained for 
a long time without spiritual assistance and in- 
struction, as can be seen from the many who 
come to our hospitable shores. The country 
around Isola had perhaps, more even than oth- 
ers, felt the sad consequences of spiritual neglect. 
"The churches were no longer frequented, the 
greater number of the people lived estranged 
from the sacraments, many had nothing left of 
their former Christianity but the mere name, or 
at most an external and wholly material reli- 
gion. As to their morals, what shall I say ? 
Blasphemy, drunkenness, licentiousness, and a 
host of vices that are ever the companions of in- 
fidelity, had increased beyond all proportion in 
every rank of society. " I am not speaking of 
past centuries or even decades," writes F. Ger- 
manus, who supplies these details, " but of a 
state of things that existed a very short while 
ago, and to which thousands of persons can bear 
witness. This is the dark side of the picture : 
let us now glance at the other. 

" Long processions are coming here from the 
villages all round about : their conduct gives 
great edification. Pilgrims are arriving every 



274 THE LIFE OF VEIST. GABRIEL. 

day. Despite the wintry season, they come from 
all distances to the tomb of Conf rater Gabriel." 
Thus wrote a missionary scarcely two months 
from the date of the translation : " All approach 
the sacraments," says Bishop Hippolytus, C. P., 
of Bulgaria (who had hastened to assist the mis- 
sionary quoted above). " I can say from experi- 
ence that even in a mission, the fruits of conver- 
sion and fervor daily seen here, could not be sur- 
passed. I have sometimes questioned the people 
as to their motive in coming here, and received 
this answer : ' Since that saint has begun to man- 
ifest himself, a fear and trembling has come over 
me on account of my sins, and please God, I'll 
sin no more.' " '' The concourse of people is ever 
on the increase," writes another confessor: 
'' penitents who for thirty or forty years had not 
practiced their duties, are now, with tears and 
regret for the past, desirous of being reconciled 
to God." 

" Poor sinners ! " a missionary writes, " they 
come on foot from distant villages, anxious to go 
to confession. They flock around me in the 
house, in the church, in the monastery, and in 
such numbers that were we five confessors in- 
stead of one, we could not hear them all. How 
sorry I feel to leave so many hundreds unab- 
solved ! In the village here, and all its neighbor- 
hood," he continues, " faith has been revived, 
blasphemy and drunkenness have become un- 



WHAT GABRIEL HAS DONE FOR ISOLA. 275 

heard of, for these simple folk often say : * In 
the presence of san Gahriele^ and under his very 
eyes, it won't do to commit any more sins.' 
Truly, the servant of God has opened a mission 
for these neglected people, and there is reason to 
hope that it will last long." 

O Isola ! thou art not the least among the 
thousands, for Gabriel shall be thy glory ! 
Buried but yesterday among thy hills, the vener- 
able servant of God is destined to be famous 
throughout the Christian world ; and the chil- 
dren of the universal church will ere long come 
as pilgrims, from every Christian land to honor 
Gabriel Possenti, to display their faith and their 
gratitude in a sanctuary all his own, when the 
hour at last comes for his solemn beatification 
and canonization. May God hasten the day ! 



^ 



OCT 21 1899 



Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. 
Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 
Treatment Date: March 2006 

PreservationTechnologies 

A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATION 

1 1 1 Thomson Park Dnve 
Cranberry Township, PA 16066 
(724)779-2111 



l>' 



Himvi 



mm. 



Wi<" i 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




016 064 324 9 



